A Mending Soul
by Torrenta
Summary: A dimensional traveler with an extremely troubled and violent past stumbles into the My Little Pony dimension after committing a heinous felony. Now trapped in the dimension, he must learn what it truly means to forgive and live while a evil from the past approaches slowly and surely.
1. Chapter 1 - Welcome to Ponyville

**A quick note: In this story, there is one massive multiverse surrounded by smaller separate dimensions. There is an elite group of superheroes called the Dimensional Travelers who travel through the many dimensions attempting to spread justice and peace. These Dimensional Travelers have abilities such as control of the periodic elements, fire, water, earth, air, lightning, light and shadow energy, etc. As well as super strength. However, they are still mortal, and can be killed like any other being.**

* * *

_Dimension: My Little Pony_

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Canterlot_

_Time: 1002 years after the defeat of Nightmare Moon_

Queen Celestia was agitated. Quite so in fact. For the past few weeks, she had been having the same dream over and over and over again: she would wake up in a brightly-light, whitewashed room. After a pause, the room would slowly begin to degenerate and crumble into dust. As the walls would collapse, she saw the outside world. The world she saw would be Equestria… burning. Canterlot, Ponyville, Manehattan, everywhere… burning. As this transpired, a voice would echo out from every corner of the planet.

"One heart will be mended,

One demon will rise;

If there is hope in his friendship,

Dark will demise;

But if the good cannot win,

A victory in turn;

Then Canterlot, Ponyville…

Equestria will burn."

Celestia had consulted with Luna, Cadence, and even Twilight Sparkle for the answer of the riddle, but their answers had all been the same: "Wait; only time will tell."

"But what is the evil that is coming? What can we do to stop them?" Wondered Celestia out loud as she looked sadly over the land of Equestria on her perch on the top tower in Canterlot.

* * *

_Dimension: Earth Prime_

_Planet: Earth_

_Specific Location: Stanford Hospital, California, United States of America_

_Time: 2013 Anno Domini_

Beep… beep… beeeeeeeeeee…

The sound of the electrocardiogram hitting the stop… the sound of death… One of the worst sounds one could possibly imagine after an apprehensive wait.

Mellissa, the best of best friends anyone could have, had died, and Joseph Torrus had caused it.

Joseph screamed. He could have saved her, he could have prevented it all, but he hadn't. His wrath, foolishness, and pride had gotten in the way.

It hadn't started this way though.

Ten years ago, a nine year old boy was approached by a mysterious entity called the Paradox. This entity bestowed upon the boy the ability to traverse the fabric of time and space, matter and dimensions. The boy had understood his task from the start: bring light and justice to the dimensions and cosmos where there was none. And so, at age nine, a small boy, Joseph Torrus, set out with hope, justice, determination, and joy in his hear. He would travel the dimensions, he would use his powers for good, and he would bring hope to everyone. At age nineteen, the boy had returned to Earth. However, his return heralded chaos; for he returned with hate, treachery, tyranny, pride, and malice. The ten years of travelling had changed him… and not for the better. He had initially made friends and allies, and even managed to defeat the demon-god of hate: Abbadon. But over time his friends had been assassinated, turned against each other, or betrayed him. "It is all in the line of our nature," one had said before he was beheaded by Joseph when he had tried to backstab him. These betrayals dug deep into the heart of Joseph, and had torn it out, replacing it with cold, black, stone. And thus Joseph too became a traitor to his cause. He had killed hundreds innocents, vaporized entire solar systems, and brought down peaceful empires; all in the name of himself… justice was no longer a factor.

Why was he returning? Love, of course. When he had left as a boy, he had promised his sweetheart, Mellissa, that he would return to ask for her hand in marriage, and that is exactly what he had intended when he returned to Earth Prime in a flaming chariot, with the skulls of innocents and kings strewn across the outside. When he proposed, she said no. She would not, could not, marry a man who had been so corrupted by evil. She loved him dearly, but he had to uncover the hope he still had deep in his heart. And thus Joseph slapped her across the face, the force of which shattered and cracked half her skull. She was quickly borne to the hospital by her family, but they couldn't do anything. Joseph could though; with his great powers, he could mend her skull in time with love and care. But that is not what he did. She had denied him the last hope he had ever had: love, and he was going to make her pay. But as he roved the dimension in a rage, he realized something… she still loved him, and she had said so… and he had still struck with a killing blow. In a flash he had teleported back to hospital room to save her. He was still good, he had to be! But as the room phased into view, he hear a quiet…

"I forgive you Joseph… Wherever you are…"

Beep… beep… beeeeeeeeeee…

And then… Joseph screamed.

The scream shattered all the windows in a mile radius, and a few walls began to crumble. A doctor quietly walked up to Joseph and placed a hand on his shoulder, "It is over," he said.

Joseph whirled and punched the man in the chest; the man flew backwards and exploded through a wall causing that half of the hospital wing to collapse. Joseph turned around and buried his face in his hands and began to sob. He had to get away, he had to get far… far… far away.

As police sirens begin to sound in the distance, Joseph opened a dimensional portal, he knew not where, and stumbled through.

He had murdered, lied, cheated, and manipulated… and he was paying the ultimate price.

Stumbling blindly, Joseph staggered across what felt like a lush and crisp field of grass and collapsed against a tree.

And there the great Joseph, the dimensional traveler, the tyrant of the multiverse, slept a trouble sleep. Plagued by the ultimate felony he had caused because of his black heart.

* * *

_Dimension: The Inferno_

_Planet: The Inferno_

_Specific Location: The Inferno_

_Time: Eternity_

Far into the deepest ring of the infernal dimension, the malignant destroyer, Abbadon, sat… biding his time. Every few minutes, he would tug at the glowing chains of energy that bound him to the ground to see if they were weakening… nothing. Abbadon sighed, his adversary had been very unusual, it had been a dimensional traveler, but this traveler had been different. Abbadon had been defeated and bound before, but no dimensional chains had ever held him for long… but these… these chains were absolute.

Suddenly, the second Abbadon had finished the though, the chains flickered, and a hairline crack began to form on the left chain link closest to the base. Abbadon began to smile… the chains were weakening, the soul of the traveler who had bound him had been compromised.

* * *

_Dimension: My Little Pony_

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Everfree Forest_

_Time: 1002 years after the defeat of Nightmare Moon_

Joseph slowly opened his eyes and looked around. Lush trees and crisp grasp. Birds twittered back and forth in the sky, and a gentle breeze flowed through the meadow… but something was different. Joseph looked around, no, it wasn't the landscape. Then Joseph's eyes looked down at himself, he had hooves.

At first Joseph was only little surprised, after all, Dimensional Travelers' bodies inherently shape shifted to match the current dimension's laws of physics and chemistry, but the second Joseph tried to phase out of the body, he realized he was stuck in that specific shape. Then panic set in.

"What… the… hell?"

Immediately Joseph began to shift through his powers… Yes, he still had control over the basic and periodic elements, but he could no longer shape shift, and he could no longer open a portal to another universe. He was stuck.

"Goddamn… shootshootshootshootshoot…"

Frantically Joseph shook a hoof and then tried to stand up. He was unsuccessful, and was forced to reside on four legs. Immediately Joseph began to run in circles as he attempted over and over again to open a portal.

"I am the lord of all! I control all elements of time and space! How can I be stuck?!" He shouted.

After a bit of running, he sat down, panting… His diagnosis was complete: he was stuck in the universe, for good.

"I swear, if the Paradox has taken my traveling powers, I will rip his kidneys out, mush them with his gall bladder, and force feed the mix down his throat." Grumbled Joseph.

After a full thirty minutes, Joseph walked over to a nearby stream and looked at his reflection.

"What the hell am I?" He wondered aloud at his rippling reflection.

A weird creature, resembling something rather like a pony in features was looking back at him. Joseph had been tall, fair skinned, and black haired. The creature that he now saw was a dark blue, with some sort of unicorn horn, a dark purple mane, and large wings.

Granted, Joseph had traveled through many dimensions in many years, but never had he ever encountered a universe where he had morphed into such an unusual creature… let alone be stuck in that form.

After a second or two of looking at his reflection, Joseph backed off, and he then began to look around, his sharp eyes picking up every little detail. Then he noticed a house off in the distance, in a thicker part of the forest bordering the meadow and a path intersecting the field beyond, his eyes immediately identified it as a ruin, something had been abandoned for at least a decade.

Joseph quickly strolled up to the house and looked it up and down. Then, sitting down on his haunches, Joseph raised his two front, brightly colored, hooves and began to move them as if conducting a band. Immediately raw stone began to rise from the ground and melt into the shape of a house seamlessly. In less than an hour, the house was complete… furniture and all, though no electricity.

Joseph then remembered what had happened not yet a day ago, and despair began to set in. His love, his life, had died at his hand.

Tears slowly began to well in his eyes, and he slowly sank to the ground. How had he become like this? He flicked his tail slowly back and forth as his memories wandered back to the first betrayal.

It had been at least four years into his adventures... Joseph and his buddy Robert had been preparing to breach a Nazi fortress in the north of Switzerland in a universe where World War II had never ended. If this fortress went down, the Nazi would no longer be able to produce nuclear bombs, and the Allies would be able to regain Russia and France, and begin constricting the Axis out of Africa. But as the approached the fortress, Tiger II and E-100 tanks rolled up from all sides. Joseph had but up his hands to fight, but felt a cold blade pressed against his neck.

"Sorry buddy," whispered Robert, "but their offers were too good. The allies are finished, and they offered me a whole continent… a WHOLE continent if I helped kill you."

Joseph simply sighed, "Is even that much land worth the life of a good friend. I saved your life in the Delta-7 galaxy!"

Robert shrugged, "Hell yes. It is all about money and survival, and I damn well say your screwed… buddy."

Joseph twisted to strike Robert down, but Robert's stab was even quicker, catching him in the stomach.

"Oh Joseph, a gutshot. Your last moments of resistance will now make you suffer."

As Joseph slowly collapsed to the floor, Robert walked away, laughing. The sound of the laugh introduced something Joseph had never quite felt… hate.

Joseph didn't die, he nearly bled and froze to death, but he didn't die. In less than a month he was up, and he proceeded to kill Robert, the Nazis, the Italians, and then the parliament of France when they attempted to stop him from nuking a French town that was said to have Nazi spies. The American's then threatened to attack him if he didn't cease, so Joseph left, shaking uncontrollably with grief and rage…

Joseph snapped out of the memory as if he had been slapped. Looking around, he then gave a sigh, half sob, half gasp. How many of those terrible betrayals and subsequent rampages had he gone through? Seven? Eight? And each time a betrayal occurred; a new ideal had come to light: hate, treachery, malice, pride… Grief.

Joseph looked down and slowly closed his eyes, as if willing to relinquish his soul. There was nothing left for him to live for. He was wanted in hundreds of dimensions, and hated and feared in hundreds more. His best friend, the only one willing to forgive him, had died by his hand, and he was trapped in who-knows-where. Joseph slowly got up, walked into his new little cottage, got into the bed, and closed his eyes. It was over, he was going to die… right… now…

Then a knock resounded at the door. Joseph's eyes shot open. A knock? Impossible. Joseph began to close his eyes when another knock rang out. Joseph slowly rolled out of bed a slowly dragged himself to the door.

"Helllloooo?" A high-pitched voice called out.

"Quiet Scootaloo! We don't know who lives there," another voice rang out.

"Yeah… nobody, Sweetie Bell. Zecora said this place had been abandoned for… like… foreeevverr, this is the perfect place see if out special talents involve building!"

"But it sure looks like somepony lives there," another voice sounded off.

"No, it doesn't Apple Bloom." Scootaloo said.

"Yes it does."

"No it doesn't."

"Yes it does!"

"No it doesn't!"

Joseph sighed slowly and said, "Who is there? Leave me alone."

Immediately the arguing ceased.

"Sorry sir!" said Apple Bloom, "we didn't know you lived here!"

"Apparently," replied Joseph slowly, "now get out of here and leave me here to die."

"Huh? Die? Are you okay?" chirped Sweetie Bell.

"No! Screw you kids! Go away," snapped Joseph. He was going to hurl off one of his routine threats when Scootaloo interrupted

"Are you new here?" she interjected, "Where did you come from?"

"What does it matter where I came from? I obviously came here to be alone!" With that Joseph pointedly turned around and began to walk away. Then the door opened. Joseph whirled and prepared to immediately vaporize the trio when he stopped. They were looking at him in awe, something he rarely got. Immediately, Scootaloo began to rail off questions like a hail storm.

"Wow! You're an alicorn! Wow! Are you a prince? Or a king? Are you related to princess Celestia? Are you?!"

Joseph, caught up in the moment, began to reply at the same pace, "Huh? Alicorn? What? No! No! No! What?"

Joseph then took a deep breath and shouted with such force that the trio in front of him stumbled backwards, "NO GOD NO! I have no idea what you are saying! I just came here to get the hell away from everyone! Including you! Leave me alone before I kill you all! And believe me; I have done more than my share of killing! Just leave me here, I no longer wish to be a part of anything."

Apple Bloom quickly covered her friend's mouth, "sorry sir! Scootaloo here doesn't know when to shut her mouth."

Joseph snorted with a quick chuckle, "that's an understatement."

He then began to raise a hoof to vaporize the trio when he realized something unique: they had made him chuckle.

Over the past six years Joseph had done a fair share of screaming, and crying, and yelling; but no laughing or even chuckling. Joseph then looked at the three oddly. There was a long an uncomfortable pause, finally broken by Sweetie Bell.

"If you like, we could show you around Ponyville. It's our home, and it is right nearby."

Still a little speechless, Joseph slowly said, "Okay…"

"Great!" exclaimed Scootaloo, her tiny wings buzzing loudly with excitement, "let's go! Everyone will want to meet our new friend."

Joseph felt a lump in his throat… friend. No one had called him friend in a long, long, long time. The three trotted promptly out, trailed slowly by Joseph, onto a beaten path shrouded by thorny bushes, not far from the cottage. Noticing the hazardous environ, Joseph slowly commented, "Why were you three here? Aren't you all a little young to be wandering in such a dangerous place?"

Apple Bloom looked a little cowed, but replied, "Yes, we ain't really supposed to be here, but we're the Cutie Mark Crusaders!"

Joseph considered killing the three again and going back, but the thought perished faster than the last idea involving violence and he said, with a tad of interest, "Cutie Mark Crusaders?"

Scootaloo, who was whizzing along on her little scooter stopped long enough to say, "Yeah! That's us! We don't have cutie marks yet, so we have been trying to find them!"

Joseph shook his head and said, "What's a cutie mark?"

Sweetie Bell chuckled and gave Joseph a little shove, "why, silly, it's on your flank! It shows everyone what your special talent is!"

Joseph had almost responded with an attack when Sweetie Bell touched him, but the feeling of some form of companionship stayed his hand from spreading their innards across a ten mile radius. After a short breath of barely managing to force his twisted and hostile urges down, he looked at his own flank. A picture was there no doubt. It was a purple and black infinity sign. Though it may have seemed wondrous and mysterious to any pony in Equestria, the sight of the diseased infinity sign sickened Joseph. Had he really become something of the infernal realm? Had he really become a monster?

"Um? Are you okay sir?" Apple Bloom's voice broke through Joseph's thoughts.

"Oh… I am okay. Well, I am sure you three will find your own, er, cutie marks in no time the way you are working towards it." Joseph replied.

Sweetie Bell gave him a huge smile, so huge, in fact, that Joseph almost fell over. No one had ever smiled at him before, well, after the betrayals, that is.

"Thank you sir!" She said, "by the way, what's your name?"

Joseph halted as his brain ran a quick diagnostic of the upcoming issue. From what he had gathered, Joseph was in no way a usual name, and he did not intend to use it if he was stuck here for the rest of his miserable life. Additionally, by the virtue of the fact that there were two ponies here that were named Sweetie Bell and Apple Bloom, the general gist for naming seemed to be two generic objects, generally attached to nature, strung together into a name. Then Joseph decided on the perfect name, a combination of who he was, and what he looked like.

"Sunset Shadow. My name is Sunset Shadow. But you may call me Sunset," said Joseph with purpose.

Sweetie Bell gave him another stunning, almost epileptic-inducing, smile, "well Mr. Sunset, we are happy to have you with us."

Scootaloo suddenly skidded ahead of the others and turned around, proclaiming dramatically, "And here we are. The greatest place in the world… Ponyville!"


	2. Chapter 2 - Fluttershy's Cottage

_Dimension: My Little Pony_

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Ponyville_

_Time: 1002 years after the defeat of Nightmare Moon_

Sunset Shadow really couldn't have cared less. In fact, the sight of happy, caring, living creatures sickened him deeply. He had had an active hand in ending things like this, and these three young ones had fairly lead a wolf into the midst of sheep. He was a monster, no better than Abbadon the demon.

Sunset Shadow nodded, and then slowly began to turn around and walk away. Sweetie Bell jumped in front of him.

"Where are you going? We haven't even started the tour yet!" she said.

Sunset Shadow shook his head, "I have had enough. I cannot go back. I- I really need to get away."

"But you can't leave!" Scootaloo too jumped in front of him.

"Yeah!" Apple Bloom joined in too.

"Look, I really cannot go there… It- it- it… It's too GOOD for the likes of me." Sunset Shadow sighed.

"What? You didn't hurt us, though you seemed a little grumpy at first. You don't look at all evil to me," said Sweetie Bell as she walked up and placed a hoof gently on his shoulder.

Immediately, Sunset Shadow began to perform a killing maneuver that would have ended Sweetie Bell's life in an instant, but he slowed down enough to the point where he simply gently brushed the hoof off.

"No Sweetie Bell. I can't. I just –"

Suddenly, a pink pony with balloons on her flank hopped out into view. She looked at the three Cutie Mark Crusaders for a moment, and then she noticed Joseph. Then she began talking faster than rain falling from the sky.

"Hey! What's going on? Who are you? Oooohhh… You're new. IknowthatbecauseIknoweveryponyinponyvilleandsinceIdon'tknowyouthatmustmeanyou'renew! Hello! I'm Pinkie Pie! Who are you?"

Sunset Shadow almost broke then, he could literally see himself, in his mind's eye, ripping out this pink pony's heart, crushing it to pulp, and the burning the Cutie Mark Crusaders to ash. But once again, he managed to pull himself off the brink, though he could smell energy and ozone crackling faintly around his front hooves.

"I… am… Sunset… Shadow… Leave… me… alone."

"Oooohhh… Sunset Shadow! What a name! I like that name! I like all names! But I mostly like kumquats! I like that name the most! Watch me say it three times fast! Kumquatkumquatkumquatkumquatkumquat! Wow! That was tiring! No it wasn't! Let's do it again! Oh, why do you want to be alone?! It isn't fun to be alone!" Pinkie Pie continued, her mouth going off faster than a Gatling gun.

Sunset Shadow had to pull himself off the brink of murder once again as he slowly began to walk away, his ears pressed flat against his skull.

"Must… not… kill… the pink one!" He muttered quietly.

Totally ignoring him, Pinkie Pie continued with her prattling "Where are you going? Come back! Let's have fun! Oh, I haven't showed you around Ponyville! Let's go!"

Sunset Shadow finally reached the breaking point. Sitting down on his haunches, Sunset raised his front hooves and began to aim them straight at Pinkie Pie's flapping mouth, preparing to cauterize it with a lightning bolt.

"What are you doing, silly? Sitting down? Let's go!" Pinkie Pie then hopped over to him… and gave him a hug. Not a small hug, a great… huge hug.

This act surprised Sunset so much that he quickly powered down the lightning and put his hooves down before he went supernova and demolished the whole solar system.

"Did… did you just hug me?" He said, as if he was in some sort of nightmare.

"Of course I did silly! That's what friends do! Let's go! I want all my old friends to meet me new friend!"

"Yeah! Let's go!" said Sweetie Bell as she trotted over to where Sunset sat.

"Yeah! Off we go!" said Scootaloo, and with that, she began to whirr off to Ponyville on her scooter.

Sunset, still acting as if he was in a nightmare, got up, and was literally pushed by Pinkie Pie, Apple Bloom, and Sweetie Bell over to the main street. And then began the tour… it was hell.

With every new pony Pinkie Pie briefly introduced, the worse Sunset felt. The ponies here were so… happy. Something he could never have. This place was literally the polar opposite of his very existence, and he could feel the positive energy conflict with his heart and summersault his stomach back and forth. Soon, they got to Twilight Sparkle's library.

"And here is Twilight Sparkle's house! It's a library! I love libraries! I also love cupcakes! Ooohh! My friend is in there! Twilight Sparkle is my friend friend friend, not just friend friend, or friend. You're a friend friend right now, but if you keep it up, you can be a friend friend friend too! Oooooohhh! Maybe you could even become a friend friend friend friend! Wow!"

"Um, Sunset? We have to go. More Crusadin' you know!"

Sunset turned to the voice of Apple Bloom. He nodded, "you three be careful."

He wasn't able to say much more, for Pinkie Pie immediately dragged him inside the building.

"Hey Pinkie, who is this?" Twilight said as she walked down the staircase. She was levitating a book slightly above her head, but as soon as she saw Sunset, she dropped her book and gaped, "Are you… an alicorn?"

Sunset had been looking at her as if she was a potential threat. Magic was dangerous, something even Dimensional Travelers were vulnerable to, but when he saw the purple alicorn gape at him, he was taken aback. So much awe, so little fear… was this truly a world free of the influence of chaos?

"Er… no… yeah?" He stuttered.

"Oh my gosh, you are! That's amazing! I didn't know there were any other alicorns out there! Where are you from? Are there any more?" Twilight immediately levitated a notebook in front of her and dashed towards him.

Almost on the spur of the moment, Sunset stumbled backwards and shouted, "NO! We already have one Pinkie Pie! We don't need two talking like her!" He then began to prepare a bolt of energy that would most certainly reduce the place to dust, but his comment had done the trick, and Twilight stopped.

"Oh, um… sorry. Heh… Who are you?" She said with a faint blush.

Sunset recovered from his stumble and straightened up, "I am Sunset Shadow. And actually, I really, really, want to get out of here. But your friend friend friend… Pinkie pie will not let me go. Apparently I am her friend friend, and that in some way authorizes her to keep me in sight at all times. I came to Ponyville to get away from people, I mean ponies, not be integrated back into society."

Twilight then looked at him curiously but then turned to Pinkie Pie, "Pinkie, let the poor pony go. I think he looks tired."

Pinkie Pie gave a huge smile, "Okay! See ya' later alligator! Actually, I have a pet alligator, would you like to see him?"

But by the time Pinkie Pie had finished the sentence; Joseph had already leapt out the door and pelted towards the town center. But he didn't get far, for he was unaccustomed to the area, and subsequently… he got lost.

"I am NOT going to ask anybody… god… anyPONY for help." He said under his breath as he trotted around. But his dark thoughts soon became to well inside him… He was in a dangerous situation wasn't he? Assassins could be all around, he was totally justified if he vaporized the town and spread fallout radiation across a couple of kilometers. I mean, so what if a few ponies died in the process, all for the greater good. As the last word in his train of thought passed through his mental station, he sighed. Greater good, what a lie. Where was this "good" the Paradox had promise him? The multiverse was screwed, there was no good, and even if there was, and it somehow outnumbered evil, evil had always been and always will be stronger.

Almost as if to compound his ever-darkening thoughts, the storm clouds that had been hovering overhead began to release their load onto the expanse below.

At first Sunset simply used his control over H2O to push the water directly above him aside, after a few moments he let go of his control and formed a shield of pure energy around him to divert the drops, and then after a full minute, he simply let it drop. Who cared if he got soaked? He was going home to commit suicide anyway, who needed him?

By this time he had made it to the borders of Ponyville, and the forest that his house bordered came into view. But then his sharp eyes noticed the different topography. This undoubtedly was the same forest, but it most certainly was not the same location of his exit with the CMC. Then his eyes registered something else: a small cottage just ahead.

Sunset sighed, he supposed he could ask for help just once, and if he needed to, he could just murder whoever was inside and vaporize their bodies.

Slowly Sunset walked up to the door and raised a hoof to knock. The sound was deep and melodious, and it hung in the rain-soaked air for a second before it too dissolved into the cold deluge.

Then, Sunset heard a light squeak, almost a whimper, "Who's there?"

The meek, fear-laden voice almost made Sunset laugh and vomit at the exact same time. Who did this pony think they were to be afraid? HE had seen true fear. But after a moment of teetering between rage and hysteria, Sunset suppressed his ravaged emotions and said slowly, "Nobody… god… nopony. I just want some directions into that large forest over there. Give them to me and I won't kill- I mean, I will be on my way."

The door opened a crack, and a bright blue pupil gazed out at him. After a moment, the door was flung open. It was a yellow pony with a pink mane, blue eyes, and wings, that had thrown the door wide.

"Oh my goodness, you poor pony!" the flying pony exclaimed, "Let's get you inside and all warmed up."

Sunset almost choked on the moment. Some random pony was literally letting a freaking stranger straight-up walk into her house? My god, he had seen his share of strange dimensions, but he had never ever encountered a situation like this. Immediately he wanted to kill the pony and escape the situation. But the kindness was so overwhelming that he couldn't do anything but be dragged inside.

"Oh my goodness, you're soaked! Here, have a towel. Do you have somewhere to stay? Do you want to stay here for the night?" The Pegasus continued as she piled on towel after towel upon Sunset.

Sunset was now bordering on panicing. This pony was being too kind; there had to be a catch. In fact, last time someone had been kind to him, they later tried to rip out his throat, forcing him to crush their face against a wall. Was it happening again? Did he need to kill her? Sunset then thought about the situation again and then realized something… this was different. Was it just him, or was this little pony literally radiating kindness?

Sunset shook his head in an attempt to clear it. He was a killer, he had to keep his faculties alert. His attempt failed miserably

"I- I- I don't know what to say…" he stuttered as the pony pushed a hot bowl of soup in front of him.

"Don't say anything, just eat. As soon as we're all warmed up we can talk." The pony than began to fill a pot full of water to heat by the fire.

Sunset ate slowly, it was good, but the flavor nevertheless died on his tongue. This phenomenon had really begun to take precedence after the third betrayal: a pretty girl who turned out to be an assassin hired to kill him. In the end, one half of her ended in space while the other ended strewn across some city called Gotham. Nevertheless, he forced himself to eat the soup, just to show he was thankful. Thankful? That was a mouthful, literally.

"Now, how do we feel, mister pony?" said the Pegasus as she trotted in.

"I- I- I feel fine. Um, thanks?"

"Oh my, you're stuttering, do you have a cold?"

"No I am fine, I- I've just never been in such a situation like this before-"

"You must have a cold! Poor thing. I will be right back."

Sunset didn't even try to protest, or even think of a way to kill her. He simply waited, his mind literally numb from the onslaught of feelings he had thought he had abandoned years ago. In seconds the pony was back, she placed a thermometer in his mouth and sat in front of him, looking carefully at it.

"You don't have a cold, thank goodness. How do you feel?" She said.

"I feel… um… fine? I really should get going, I don't think I can take much mo-" He said.

"Oh! But it is still pouring, I knew it was a bad day for the scheduled rainstorm. You must stay here tonight." Replied the pony as she pulled out the thermometer and put it away.

Sunset was getting more uncomfortable by the moment, but couldn't help but ask, "My name is Sunset Shadow, what's yours?"

The pony looked down at her hooves and mumbled something, but Sunset immediately picked up the whispered words, "Fluttershy. That's er… a… um… great name."

The pony looked up and peeked between her flowing mane, "you think so?"

Sunset shrugged, "It's… um… great! As I said. Look I really should be go-"

"Oh, but it's still pouring, stay here one night, I insist."

"But… no… kill… what… weapon… how… Okay." Sunset said as he gave a huge sigh.

Fluttershy smiled quietly. "I don't have a guest bedroom," she said, "but I have this couch over there. I can sleep on there, and you can have my bedroom… if that's okay with you."

"No! I should sleep here; you can have your bedroom." Sunset immediately realized he had said it too forcefully, as Fluttershy immediately looked down at her hooves.

Though it went against literally every nerve in his body, Sunset smiled, and then he said, "Sorry, I will take your gracious offering. Thank you for your kindness." Kindness… what a word. Almost immediately Sunset felt depressed… another mood swing thanks to his ruined emotions and ravaged personality. But at that moment, Sunset noticed a rabbit hopping across and tugging at Fluttershy's mane. She let it hop onto her back; she then carried it to him, "This is Angel," she said, "He wants to say hello."

Sunset looked at the rabbit and said flatly, "Hello. My name is Sunset Shadow."

The rabbit looked at him and waved. To his horror, Sunset found himself waving back. He quickly put his hoof down and said, "I think I will go to bed. I need to wake up early so I can… um… get home quickly."

"Okay, goodnight Sunset!"

"Goodnight… er… Fluttershy."

He went up to the bedroom and climbed onto the bed. As he lay there, he felt worse and worse and worse. The night always brought his emotions out, and slowly he tormented himself to sleep; with thoughts of those who had betrayed him, innocents he had mercilessly killed, and the one who had forgiven him seconds before her wounds he had caused killed her. After hours of torture, Sunset drifted into a hellish sleep.


	3. Chapter 3 - The Mane 6

_Dimension: My Little Pony_

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Fluttershy's Cottage_

_Time: 1002 years after the defeat of Nightmare Moon_

Despite his indicating that he would wake up early, Sunset didn't wake up until sunlight was streaming through the room. Immediately he took stock of his surroundings, after a moment he made a diagnosis: nothing in this room could kill him effectively. Death… the first thing always on his mind. After that realization passed through his mind, Sunset almost gave up, closed his eyes and collapsed back onto the bed, but he stayed the action when he heard dishware clattering downstairs. Sunset slowly got up and walked downstairs.

"Hello Fluttershy," he said through strained teeth, trying not to kill her, himself, or anyone else as he became painfully aware of the awkwardness of the situation.  
"Eep!" Fluttershy yelped at the sound out his voice. She almost dropped the pan, but she then quickly recovered herself. Turning to Sunset, she smiled calmly, "Hello Sunset. How are you?"

Forcing a smile, Sunset replied, "I am fine. I really should be going now."

Fluttershy looked surprised, and quickly said, "You can't leave yet! Here, have some breakfast first."

Sunset looked at the proffered bowl, and then to Fluttershy, and then back at the bowl. After a full minute of combating his feelings, Sunset said, "Fine."

He sat down next to Fluttershy and ate. As soon as he finished, he quickly got up and said, "Thank you for your hospitality, but I really have to go now."

Fluttershy too got up and said, "But it's all muddy outside! You should stay here until everything dries up."

Sunset glanced out the window, "It looks fine."

"But it could still rain!"

"Uh huh… I don't think so." After he said that, he looked suspiciously at Fluttershy, who in turn looked down at her hooves.

"I would like it if you stayed a while," she mumbled, "I like your company."

Sunset snorted, he doubted that. A sweet little pony like her probably never was in any need of friends. At first he thought about simply turning around and getting the hell away, but there was something about Fluttershy, the kindness coming off her that was somewhat hypnotizing for him. She was his polar opposite, and it was fascinating. Once again Sunset had to fight off his darker emotions and ground out a single word, "Fine."

Immediately Fluttershy perked up, "Wonderful. Let me show you to all my animal friends."

Sunset almost choked on air… animals? He hated animals. Something about their instincts alerted them of his blackened heart, and caused them to openly loath him. However, if they were scared of him, perhaps he would then be able convince Fluttershy to let him go.

He was totally wrong, the animals loved him. The moment she called them out, the creatures, both big and small, gathered around him chirping, barking, etc. Sunset simply stood there, eyes narrowed, trying not to groan.

"Oh! They love you! I knew you were special. Is your special talent animals too?"

"No," Sunset said as he gave a mouse who was hugging his left hoof a death glare. The mouse promptly ignored him and went on hugging. After holding the death glare for a few more seconds, Sunset continued, "I don't think it is."

After a few minutes of being overwhelmed by animals who seemed to see something in him that he himself couldn't, the creatures began to disperse. Fluttershy walked over to him and sat on her haunches and said, "That was wonderful." After an awkward pause, she looked down at her hooves again and blushed through her pink mane and mumbled, "Could you tell me a little about yourself?"

At first Sunset wanted to tell her to shut the hell up and mind her own business, but the way she had been kind to him stuck in his mind. He suddenly realized he really wanted to tell her about everything. About how he had been betrayed, about how he had turned, and about how he had become a murderer. Slowly he sat down and began.

"A long time ago, I use to live a far, far, FAR away place. In this, er, place, there was a talented group of ponies called… called the travelers. They had amazing abilities way beyond the scope of any cutie mark talent, and they were our designated peacemakers. When I was just a little, um, colt, I was approached by a special being called the Paradox. This being granted me the abilities of a traveler and tasked me with the mission of spreading good and justice throughout the land. I tried – Honest! – But it was difficult. The world isn't all sunshine and rainbows; it is degenerate, diseased, and twisted. I tried my best to help ponies, but slowly the darkness of the world began to seep into me and my friends' souls. Then the betrayals began. There was a betrayal, then another betrayal, and then another betrayal. Soon all my friends had either betrayed me, turned their backs on me, or been killed. The situation kind of broke my heart and mind. I became like the traitorous ones, and I began to hurt many ponies. I hurt a lot of ponies a lot. I was feared and hated. Nevertheless, I tried to ask the only one who had ever believed me her hand, er, hoof in marriage. She said she could not. She loved and cared for me, but she could not. I was mad and I wounded her. So much so that… that…

Sunset's voice caught, and after a trembling sigh, he said, "That's it. There is no more. After that incident, I stumbled here, and here I will stay. Either by design or by chance, I am trapped here in Equestria."

Fluttershy looked at Sunset with sorrow and compassion; she then got up and moved over to sit next to Sunset. She calmly put a hoof on his shoulder and said, "If you were once evil, you are not anymore. Look at how my animals loved you!"

Sunset simply looked down at his hooves and shook his head vigorously.

Fluttershy then smiled, "Tell you what… Why don't I tell you about what has happened to me?"

Then Fluttershy began her tale. About how she got her cutie mark, how she met Twilight Sparkle and discovered her element of Harmony, how she had gone many places, and how she had befriended Discord. Many hours passed, and the sun was slowly setting as Fluttershy finished her long tale.

Sunset was still feeling extremely depressed, nevertheless, so Fluttershy said, "Why don't we have a picnic dinner? I am sure the ground has dried up by now."

Sunset looked up at the sky, which looked a little overcast, "Are you sure?" He said, too numb to really assert his own scorn for her idea.

"I think so. Let's go!" After that, Fluttershy leapt up and began to pack a picnic dinner. As this transpired Sunset continued sitting in the exact same spot he had for the past ten hours as he mulled the adventures of himself and Fluttershy over in his head. She had had such a different past. She had started off on the bottom, but her love and kindness had changed everything. Now she had friends and loved ones, and her life was golden. He had started at the top, admired and worshipped by many, but his adventures had corrupted him, and now his life was as black as the darkest night.

Fluttershy soon trotted in with a basket brimming with food. After she put it down, she said, "Let's go! I know a wonderful place a while from here that is perfect!"

Sunset stood up and said, "I will go on one condition: you let me carry the basket and you ask no more of my past."

Fluttershy smiled, a little abashed, and nodded quickly. Sunset walked over and stopped next to the basket. At first he considered reducing the gravity around the basket, or using telekinesis to levitate the thing, but he then got an idea. With a quick mental push, he activated his unicorn horn, causing the basket to levitate. It felt weird, but somehow enjoyable at the same time. The two trotted promptly towards the field for a full ten minutes or so. By the time they arrived, the large grass field was soaked in red light from the setting sun… a wonderful sight. By the light of the setting sun, Sunset and Fluttershy sat together eating.

At first Sunset felt incredibly uncomfortable, and considered killing himself or teleporting away to escape the situation; but slowly he warmed up to the situation, and allowed his worries and thoughts of violence to slip away. Then it started raining.

Suddenly the light of the setting sun was gone and the overcast clouds began the deluge. Immediately Sunset used his control over H20 to shift the water above himself and Fluttershy, but as he looked around, he could not see where they had come. After a bit of frantic searching, he noticed a large tree bordering the meadow.

"Follow me!" Sunset said quickly, nudging Fluttershy to the tree. In a minute they were there, sitting under the tree at night trying not to get soaked to the skin.

"Well," Sunset said sarcastically after a long pause, "You were right about the 'no rain' prediction. I can't see a cloud in the sky."

Fluttershy dropped her gaze and whimpered, "Sorry."

Sunset gave her a small smile and lightly touched her shoulder, "It's no problem. But it looks like we are stuck here for the night. Despite my good eyesight, I cannot see anything past one hundred yards in this weather."

Fluttershy sighed as she settled down in the resting position as Sunset sat a few feet away, observing the storm.

"What was it like in your homeland?" Mumbled Fluttershy, in her tiredness, she had forgotten that he had asked for no questions about his past.

Sunset almost immediately pointed that out, but then sighed, "It wasn't much to look at really. Dirty, polluted, terror-stricken. The ponies there had not yet understood the meaning of peace, and from what I can tell, they were also a lot more technologically advanced then here. I mean…"

Sunset glanced over, Fluttershy was sleeping, but she was also shivering. Sighing deeply, Sunset walked slowly over to Fluttershy and lay down next to her and spread one of his wings lightly over her back. Almost immediately she stopped her quivering and gave a contented smile. Sunset laid his own head down next to hers and closed his eyes. He too fell asleep quickly, but unlike Fluttershy, his dreams were apparently not as nice. Fire, screaming, death – always death – was prominent throughout the early stages of his dreams. However, as soon as the nightmare began to increase in intensity, and Sunset was positive his brain would snap, a gentle calming mist covered the scarred battlefields of his consciousness, and he drifted into a mercifully empty sleep.

The sun had just begun to stream through the hills when Sunset snapped awake. In a panic, he quickly gathered his situational data to determine what was going on and who wanted to kill him next, but then he noticed he was safe, and the events of the previous night returned to his memories. Then he noticed Fluttershy. His wing still covered her lower body, but her head was burrowed almost painfully into his side, with one of her hoofs draped over his back. For a moment Sunset simply lay there, blinking stupidly off into space, as if he hadn't the slightest idea in the world what the hell was going on. Then after a long, long, long pause, he noticed Fluttershy's eyes beginning to open.

Knowing now that she was awake, Sunset slowly said, "Fluttershy? What are you pressing your muzzle into my neck?"

"Eep!" She gasped, and she quickly shifted backwards and gazed down at the grass. After a pause, she said, "You were groaning and whimpering in your sleep."

Sunset then remember the first stage of the night and sighed, "Peace rarely ever comes to me in my dreams nowadays, Fluttershy."

She nodded and said, "It got so loud that it woke me up. I noticed that you had been kind enough to cover me with one of your wings… so I… so I… so I thought it would be okay if I pressed my cheek against yours. I thought it might comfort you, it does with Angel when he has nightmares."

Sunset felt a lump beginning to form in his throat… The kindness… it was unbearable…

Sunset switched from the "laying-down" position to the "sitting-up" one as he said, "Oh, um… thanks. I… I really think we should get you home now."

Fluttershy continued laying there, her eyes almost adopting a dreamy look, "No, I think it would be fine if we stayed right here…"

Sunset looked at her, and his stomach began to ball up in nervousness, then he remembered something that would get him most certainly out of the jam, "But what about Angel and the rest? Won't they be worried about you?"

Fluttershy bolted up, "Oh my goodness! You're right! We have to hurry!"

Sunset got up grumpily. Was she going to continue to use the royal "we?" If she did, he would never be able to feel obligated to leave. Nevertheless he followed her back to the cottage, and they arrived in half the time it took to leave. She burst through the door and exclaimed, "My poor Angel! Where you worried while mommy was gone?"

Angel simply glanced up and proceeded to go back to sleep. Fluttershy looked relieved, "Oh… Maybe not."

Sunset trotted in, levitating the basket. He put it down and cleared his throat, "I really should be going now."

Fluttershy looked up, almost mournfully. "Already?" she replied.

Sunset gaped disbelieving at her. Was she freaking kidding him? How was he supposed to go on to finish off himself if she never gave him a second alone? However, after a long and exasperated sigh, he said, "If you want, you can come with me. I can show you what I've done with the place.

Fluttershy got up quickly. Sunset rolled his eyes and walked slowly out of the door. He then stopped and turned around, "what forest is that?" He said, pointing to the forest in the distance.

"That's there Everfree forest." Replied Fluttershy.

"The hell it is. Free, sure." Muttered Sunset. He then cleared his throat and said, "Is there a path that leads from there into Ponyville? My house is off to the side. A few yards from the path."

Fluttershy nodded, "Follow me!"

In a few minutes they were on the path. In a few minutes more, they were approaching the house. During their walk, Fluttershy and Sunset had said very little, but despite this, Sunset's mind had been working like clockwork. Did this Fluttershy "like" him? How was this possible? Was it possible? And if that was possible, was it possible that his deeply scarred feelings were mending as well?

In a few more moments, the house began to come into view. However, the sight that greeted Sunset's eyes gave him pause. In front of the door was a small congregation. Sunset recognized the Cutie Mark Crusaders, Pinkie Pie, and Twilight Sparkle, and the rest were undoubtedly the rest of the Mane 6 and the baby dragon Spike Fluttershy had told him about. He slowed down to a stop and slowly began to back away with his ears pressed against his skull. More ponies… this was very, very bad…

Then Sweetie Bell turned her head around and sighted him, "There is Sunset!" She exclaimed pointing a hoof in his direction. The entire group began to move towards him.

At this moment, Sunset was literally terrified. More ponies, and they were Fluttershy's friends. If they got to loud or too close and physical, they might trigger his atrophied emotions, and he could end up hurting or killing them all. Fluttershy noticed his growing alarm and flew ahead to meet the group.

"Who is that guy? Is he the one Twilight told us about?" said the one that Fluttershy had said was Rainbow Dash.

Twilight nodded, "That's him!"

Fluttershy stood between them and said, "Careful friends! I think he might be a little nervous about strangers. He's had a terribly rough time in the past, he's here to recover, not be crowded."

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Bell then trotted up to Fluttershy and stood beside her.

"Yeah," said Sweetie Bell, "I think he's had some trouble before."

"Trouble? Nah. He's just unhappy! Unhappy?! We must make him un-unhappy! Then he will be more than happy to be happy!" Pinkie Pie tried bouncing around the Fluttershy, Apple Blossom and Sweetie Bell, but Fluttershy blocked Pinkie Pie from bouncing any further.

"Be slow! I don't think he likes you all yet."

Sunset had been bordering on hyperventilating, but after a few gasping breaths, he pulled his nerves together and trotted slowly up.

"You wanted to see me. Why?" He said, speaking directly to Twilight Sparkle.

Twilight replied, "Well, you're an alicorn! No alicorn stallions have been sighted since the Paleo Pony era! And yet… here you are!"

Sunset immediately was bothered, why hadn't his stupid body chosen this form? God, now he was going to draw attention wherever he went, the last thing he wanted. Was killing everything still an option?

Sunset quickly gave his head a shake and said, "So? Is that something bad?"

Twilight looked slight aghast at the reply, "Of course not! But look at me! I am an  
alicorn! There are only supposed to be four of us! Me, Princess Cadence of the Crystal Empire, and Princesses Celestia and Luna! In fact, that is what we are here: to take you to see Princess Celestia."

Sunset blanched has he had a quick flashback. Last time he had meet a princess, he had ended up murdering her and her family when they refused to decrease their tax laws and create a statue in honor of him. It took a second to break free of that terrible memory, but Sunset managed, telling himself that he no longer was that kind of being. He was going to change… or commit suicide. Whichever came first.

"I really don't think that's a good idea. Last time I met royalty, things didn't end to well." Said Sunset after escaping the memory.

"DID NOT?" Exclaimed the pony Fluttershy had said was Rarity, "Why? How is that ever possible?"

Sunset snorted in frustration, and slowly began to back away, only to find he escape route blocked by Pinkie Pie, who had somehow managed to get around him. "It just happened. Look, I made some mistakes and I am still paying for them today. Why can't you ponies understand that and move on? Find yourself another alicorn! Hell, I am sure Rainbow Dash there would look great if you grafted a horn onto her! Then she could be one and you could take her to this princess!"

Twilight shook her head, "It doesn't work that way. Just give us a chance!"

The last phrase triggered yet another memory. Last time someone had said that, he had given no chances… It had been swift and deadly, and the hope of a second chance died with the person who said it by Sunset's own hand. He quickly pulled himself into reality once again and sighed, "I suppose the only way I can maintain my sanity and yet not have a plagued conscious is by saying yes. Okay, when do we leave?"

The group cheered, except for Rainbow Dash who had been thoughtful after Sunset's outburst.

"Hey guys… COULD I get myself a unicorn horn? Would it work?"

Twilight ignored her and turned to Spike, who pulled out a pen and parchment.

"Take a note, Spike," she said to the baby dragon, "Dear Princess Celestia, I have found another alicorn. I am bringing him – yes, him! – To you immediately. Yours faithfully, Princess Twilight Sparkle."

Spike finished scribbling and raised the parchment into the air, after taking a deep breath, he swathed the paper in green flames, vaporizing the thing immediately.

"It's on the way Twi," he said.

Twilight nodded her thanks and turned to Sunset, "Let's go! We will have to get tickets to Canterlot, and then leave immediately."

Scootaloo then spoke up. "Great!" she said, her tiny wings buzzing in excitement, "Can we go too?"

"Yeah!" Said Apple Bloom, "Do we get to go?"

The one who Sunset decided was Applejack then spoke up as well. "Sorry sis," she said, "But you three have to stay here."

Sunset up to this point have been thinking specifically about how to NOT kill everypony he would soon meet, but at this new declaration, he pulled himself back into reality, something that he was doing less and less now. The sight of the disappointed Cutie Mark Crusaders gave him pause, and he then decided to pull something, as a little "thank you" to the trio from keeping his self-induced death at bay.

"If they stay I stay," he said simply.

There was a long pause… then Rarity, Applekack, and Twilight said in unison, "I suppose they could go."

Suddenly Sunset was buried underneath the CMC, who were hugging him tightly.

"Thanks Sunset!" said Apple Bloom.

"Yeah, thanks!" added Scootaloo.

"Thank you thank you thank you!" exclaimed Sweetie Bell.

Sunset staggered to his feet. His initial reaction was rage at being touched without his consent, but it strangely melted away as the three continued to hug him tightly.

"Um, girls?" interrupted Twilight after another long pause, "I think you can let go of him now."

"Oh yeah, sorry," said Scootaloo. "Well, I am off to ask my parents! Bye!"

With that, Scootaloo, followed by Apple Bloom and Sweetie Bell, zoomed off.

"Oooh! Can I have a hug now?" said Pinkie Pie bouncing up to Sunset and extending her hooves and her smile wide. Sunset pointedly took a step in the opposite direction, "Eh… don't touch me."

Pinkie seemed in no way hurt by the comment and exclaimed, "Okie dokie! Well, I have to skedaddle! A lot of jumping has to be done!"

Twilight turned to Sunset after watching Pinkie bounce off. "Well, I suppose we should get those tickets" she said.

Sunset, still a little dazed, replied, "Yeah, I suppose. And please, don't any of you touch me. I think I have had my fill of personal contact for the rest of… well… a while."

The three trotted off to the train station. While on the way, he was peppered by questions by the Mane 6.

"Where do you come from?" said Applejack.

"Are all you guys alicorns?" added Rainbow Dash.

"Is your fashion sense attuned?" interjected Rarity.

Sunset simply pressed his ears against his head and began thinking hard about NOT killing them.

Fluttershy answered them, "He comes from far, far away in a place called Earth Prime. No, I think they are just regular ponies. Sadly, no, I don't think they really think about that. Sunset said they hate each other."

As the last phrase sank into the clean, rain-washed air, there was an uncomfortable pause. Twilight turned to Sunset. "Is that true?" she asked.

Sunset sighed, "Yeah. Nothing is right where I hail from. War, death, you name it. I once part of a group designed to stop it all, but… Never mind. Can we keep moving?"

Twilight looked like she wanted to say more, but she suppressed another comment and turned around.

"Here we are." She said after a bit. They group trotted in and purchased tickets. During the transaction, Sunset had time to observe the "bits" that they used as currency. Standard gold, with a hint of magic, he could replicate that, at least providing for himself would not be a problem if somepony somehow managed to talk himself out of committing suicide sooner or later.


	4. Chapter 4 - Canterlot

_Dimension: My Little Pony_

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Ponyville Train Station_

_Time: 1002 years after the defeat of Nightmare Moon_

An hour later, the CMC ran up to the station, and the large group got on. All, that is, except Rarity and Spike. Those two almost missed it because of the load of luggage they were carrying… and Pinkie, who said something quickly about cake frosting and a mailbox before rushing onto the train.

As they sat down in a brightly lit passenger car, Twilight asked Sunset the question he had been praying they would not ask. "Tell me about yourself!" she said. Sunset groaned, "I really don't want to talk about it. I had a bad time, people tried to kill me; I got depressed and tried to escape. I got stuck here; you ponies dragged me onto a train to meet some random princess. The end," he said in a monotone voice.

"WOW!" said Pinkie Pie, who Sunset was now seriously questioning her sanity, "that was good! I loved the part about the train and the random princess. The climax about the escaping was the best though."

Sunset looked at Pinkie for a moment in bemusement, before looking at his hooves. Fluttershy got up and moved over to put a hoof on his shoulder. Rarity gasped… Sunset had said not to do that! However, Sunset didn't react, he let it rest there, bearing the battle between her kindness and his tattered mind that caused his stomach to leap and dive.

"This poor pony has had enough to deal with. I think we should all just quiet down and enjoy the sunlight while it lasts," said Fluttershy in a soothing tone.

Sunset grunted in begrudging acknowledgement and continued to look at his front hooves. And so commenced the worst pause of his… and probably Pinkie Pie's… life. After over two hours of absolute nothing, both he and Pinkie broke the silence.

"I think I will fly the rest of the way," he said getting up.

"FROSTING!" yelled Pinkie at the same time.

Quickly Sunset got out of the train and climbed onto the roof of it. As he observed the surroundings and steeled himself for trying out his new wings, somepony joined him: Twilight.

"What's the matter?" she said as she went up and sat next to him.

Sunset grunted. If a pony asked him something and that pony wasn't Fluttershy, he was probably not going to reply at that point.

"Look, I know you have had a rough time getting here, but we have so many questions! Wouldn't it be easier to tell us about yourself? We won't ask again. This is a wondrous occasion; you cannot blame us for being excited."

Sunset turned to look at Twilight's hooves, "Have you ever seen death? I mean, literally seen the embodiment of death descend on a rotting battlefield?"

Twilight looked totally flabbergasted by the question. "Um… no." She said slowly.

Sunset looked at her, and he was sure she could see the horror in his eyes by the way her pupils shrunk. "I have," he said, "It was terrible. What's even worse, I had a major hand in it. Fluttershy knows this… I am a monster. I had a chance to be good, and I gave it up. There is nothing left of me now."

Twilight was still gazing in a petrified state at Sunset's terror-stricken eyes. "I… I didn't know. But I know the remedy: friendship."

Sunset chuckled harshly, "Ahhh yes… Friendship is magic... is it not? Well, I don't know."

Twilight lifted a hoof and paused for a moment, and then she reached out and placed it on his shoulder. Sunset opted to respect her bold move and did not make her pay for crossing the boundaries. He nodded to her.

"Having good friends is something very rare," she continued, "And as you said: it is magic. If you would give the friendship my friends and I offer, you might be surprised."

"Yes, I know that to be true!" said a voice.

The two turned to see Fluttershy joining them on the rooftop.

"You may not think much of us now Sunset," she said, looking into his eyes bravely; gazing into the pupils that had witnessed so much chaos, "but you of all people might need friends the most."

Sunset brushed Twilights lingering hoof off his shoulder and said, "I don't know. My heart has been ruined, and my mind has been poisoned as well. Perhaps… perhaps…"

Then he took a deep breath. "The truth is," he said, "I came to that little cottage near Ponyville so I could commit suicide."

Twilight gasped, but Fluttershy just leaned her head against his shoulder, "but you didn't," she said soothingly.

Sunset nodded, "I didn't have a chance. The Cutie Mark Crusaders brought me out. In a way, I owe my life to them. I owe my life to you too, Fluttershy. Your company has made my life a little more bearable."

Twilight looked at Sunset as if she didn't really know how to respond, and then she managed to force out one word, "Why?"

Sunset sighed again, "Look. I killed the only one who believed in me. I am a murderer. Is that good enough?"

Twilight looked away. Then she looked back, "I am sorry. But you're safe now, you're amongst friends."

Fluttershy pressed he cheek a little harder into Sunset's should to remind him that she was still there and said, "Yes. You're safe now. We would never dream of betraying you."

Sunset sighed once again, a lump forming in his throat. "Thank you," he said.

The three sat together on top of the train for the rest of the journey, watching as the tall spires of Canterlot rose into view. In several more minutes, they pulled into the Canterlot station, and the group got off.

"Where did you go?" Asked Sweetie Bell as Sunset jumped down from the train's top.

"Oh, I just needed some fresh air, Sweetie Bell," he replied as he straightened up, "I am a little claustrophobic, if you will."

The group then began the long walk up through Canterlot to the castle. At first very few ponies took notice of Sunset, but little by little, ponies looked up from their everyday work to gape at the alicorn stallion walking up the street surrounded by Ponyville ponies. Soon a crowd began to gather behind Sunset, as if this was some sort of procession. As the crowd grew, Sunset's confidence shrank. What if he broke? What would happen to all these ponies? Would he reduce them to ash like so many other innocent lives? It seemed like forever, but the ponies finally reached the gates of the castle. By the time they reached it, reporters had arrived, and cameras were flashing. Now Sunset had his ears flattened and his pupils had shrunk. Desperately he grappled with his emotions as he tried to bury his violent impulses deep within himself. When he thought he could no longer bear it, though, they reached the front of the castle and the gates swung open. As they entered the hallway, a troop of guards were there to meet him. Their eyes were narrowed, and they stood straight to attention. This was almost the breaking point for Sunset. At-the-ready guards? This was too much. After a moment of terror when he thought he would just have to make a break for it, Sunset managed to, at the last moment, force down his fury and fear and walked purposely through the guards; his eyes straight ahead. In no time he had made it through the guard-packed hallway and walked into the royal throne room of the Sun and Moon sisters. Celestia immediately got up from her throne and walked down to meet Sunset. Immediately Sunset felt an urge to attack her… after all, he and royalty never got along. Once again he forced down the surging emotions and he pulled the energy crackling about his hoofs back within himself.

"Welcome stranger to the court of Celestia and Luna, you are welcome," said Celestia in a clear voice, "And welcome Princess Twilight Sparkle and her friends."

Sunset nodded graciously, and said stoutly, "You wanted to see me? Here I am. What is it that you so badly needed to see me?"

Celestia looked a little taken aback at first by Sunset's forwardness, but then replied, "You are an alicorn. As Princess Twilight Sparkle has probably informed you, alicorn stallions have not been seen since the Paleo Pony era."

Sunset nodded stiffly and said, "I am aware of that. But I am not an article to be gawked at, nor dragged around."

This time Luna answered, "We simply have so many questions, noble stranger."

Sunset turned to look at Luna, "Understood. And call me Sunset Shadow."

Celestia nodded, "Well, Sir Sunset Shadow, first we must-"

Suddenly the door banged open and another figure walked in: Discord.

"Oh forgive me, am I interrupting something?" said Discord as he glided in, popped out of existence and reappeared next to Celestia. "Ooooh, another alicorn! Is he a relation of yours, Tia?"

Celestia sighed, "He is not. Sunset Shadow, meet Discord. Former god of chaos, now reformed."

Discord conjured a smart suit, tie, and monocle as he bowed deeply, "A pleasure to meet you Sunset Shadow. I am sure we are all dying to hear your life-story. As for me… well, I have better be going. Royal duties and all that. Ta-ta!"

With that, Discord disappeared in a flash.

Sunset narrowed his eyes; that flash looked familiar. There was more to Discord than met the eye.

Celestia once again addressed Sunset, "I apologize, Sunset Shadow, for the interruption. We can now return to our previous conversation. Where do you come from?"

Sunset sighed, Celestia obviously was a pony of much wisdom, more wisdom than probably any pony on the planet. No doubt she would know every land in the world, thus ruling out his 'far, far away' ploy.

After a moment of thought, Sunset replied, "I hail from somewhere I am sure you do not know of."

Celestia once again looked surprised, "Are you sure?" she said, "I know every land on our wonderful planet. Perhaps…"

Sunset turned sideways and presented her with his cutie mark. "Tell me," he said, "does this answer your question?"

Now again Celestia was surprised, even more so that the last two times. "Infinity," she said breathlessly, "I have not ever seen the likes of that. Please tell me where you come from."

Sunset turned again to face the princess, "As I said, you do not know of the place, for it is far away. I will ask your indulgence to take me at my word and not ask any more questions of the past."

Luna walked up beside her sister and said, "But Sunset Shadow, there is so much to discuss. Are there more of you?"

Sunset shook his head, "I do not know of any other alicorn stallions. Perhaps I myself cannot properly call myself one."

Luna cocked her head to one side, "By what do you mean Sunset Shadow?"

Sunset simply said, "You still would not understand. My history is more complex than anything you will ever understand. But I will make known my coming here: I am here to rest. My past has been troubled, and I seek refuge in the town you call Ponyville."

Celestia nodded, "I understand. We will not ask you any more questions Sunset Shadow… for now. Why don't you take a walk in the Canterlot gardens? I have something to discuss with Twilight Sparkle."

"I will go with you Sunset," said Fluttershy as he turned to leave.

"So will I!" said Sweetie Bell.

Celestia shook her head, "I sense he wants a little time alone. Guards, show the fillies to the private entertainment room. Fluttershy, you must stay with the Harmony bearers, I have something to say to you all."

Sunset had closed the large glass garden door before Celestia had finished the sentence and was now walking amongst the trees. He leaned in close to inspect a flower, breathing deeply; he smelled its fresh and sweet scent. No fire, no decay, no charcoal, no smoke… just clean, crisp air and fragrant flowers.

Suddenly, Sunset turned around, raising a hoof and charging it with plasma. Discord was standing directly behind him.


	5. Chapter 5 - Discord's Secret

_Dimension: My Little Pony_

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Canterlot Gardens_

_Time: 1002 years after the defeat of Nightmare Moon_

"Oh, be careful where you point that Sunset. You could hurt somepony!" Discord said with mock scolding.

Sunset looked at Discord with squinted eyes. Discord flashed out of existence and reappeared next to him, dressed in safari clothes.

"What are we looking at?" Discord said. Then he flashed out and flashed in on a bench nearby.

Sunset then decided to take a chance. He pointed to himself. "Joseph Torrus," he said, "Dimensional Orientation MPJ-9, 79th generation, power tier 2."

Discord looked totally flabbergasted. After a long pause, he muttered, "well I say… well I say."

He flashed out and then flashed in once more in front of Sunset and pointed to himself dramatically. "Discordious Draconequus, Dimensional Orientation MCA-9, 65th generation, power tier 1."

Sunset raised an eyebrow and gave a small smile of triumph. "Ah," he said, "Another Dimensional Traveler. Nice to meet you. I hail from Earth Prime, where come you?"

Discord levitated slightly in the air as he replied, "Ahhh… Earth Prime! The big one! Me? Oh, I hail from here. Good old Paradox gave me my powers, and I chose to keep my skills close to home."

Sunset looked at Discord suspiciously, "Fluttershy tells me that you were quite a bother, and were responsible for the whole Chaotic era!"

Discord rolled his eyes before teleporting next to Sunset, "Oh, I did a little bit of good here and there before that. But goodness! A hundred years of helping and no fun really takes off of you! So, I figured, why should I make other people happy at my expense? I should be happy at their expense! However, old Tia and Lulu didn't take kindly to my little bout of self-indulgence. So they turned me to stone! The tragedy! However, when I broke free, I attempted to reinstate my fun house, but I was stopped by the Harmony bearers. However, after a little bit more time in the cooler, I was released and good old Shutterfly helped me reform!"

Sunset narrowed his eyes, "It's Fluttershy."

Discord threw up his hands in mock disgust, "Oh whatever. So, what brings another traveler to my little playground?"

Sunset took a deep breath, and then he said quickly in a low voice, "I'm stuck here."

Discord burst out laughing. So loud in fact that Sunset almost was tempted to once again break the universal traveler code and kill him. But after a while of fighting his anger and listening to Discord laugh, the situation quieted down.

"Oh… oh… you ARE a riot aren't you? So tell me, Joseph, how did you get stuck here? Gasped Discord between breaths.

Once again Sunset took a deep breath. "I… I lost my way. I killed several hundred innocent people and broke the traveler code thrice times. Then I killed my only friend."

Discord actually stopped laughing completely and looked somberly at Sunset, "Ah… That… that, um… happens. Don't take it too hard, friend."

Sunset tried to put on a brave face. "I am getting over it," he said, "Fluttershy is helping me recuperated. I almost committed suicide, but the Ponyville ponies stopped me."

Discord brightened up once again. "Those ponies! I love them! They kinda grow on you don't they?"

Sunset nodded. After a bit, he said, "You've been here the entire time right?"

"That is correct."

"So, you have no news of the outside world."

"Yeah. I gave up traveling the dimensions two thousand years ago. I doubt it even works now. However, young Joseph, tell me what has been happening since I left."

"Hmmmmm… Well, about two thousand years ago, there was a traveler-demon war that wiped out four or five separate dimensions. However, we won. Of course, there were a few arch-demons hiding out, but they were of no consequence. Then a golden era began… The Paradox regularly recruited new travelers, and they were all pure of heart. For once people felt like good had finally outnumbered and outgunned evil. Sadly, though, that only lasted up to a decade before I joined. Then a new era began, an era of anarchy. When I came in, the traveler code was broken regularly and it was every man, or pony, for himself. Paradox thought I and a group of twelve others could balance out the chaos. He was wrong. I turned and the other twelve were killed. However, after killing hundreds of innocents… I've realized the error of my ways. But… but can anything really wipe out that much red?"

Discord strolled over and stood in front of Sunset. Speaking seriously, Discord replied, "Where there is forgiveness, there is hope. I cannot forgive you in place of the people you killed, but I can let you know that if you let love, kindness, loyalty, honesty, kindness, laughter, generosity, and maybe a little magic back into your heart, you most certainly will be welcome back amongst them when your time is over."

Tears immediately began to well up in Sunsets eyes, but he brushed them away. "From one traveler to another," said Sunset after he got himself under control once again, "thank you. And call me Sunset. I intend to go by that name from now one."

Discord nodded, and then pulled a face. "Well," he said decisively, "that was all ooshy-mooshy, I think it is time I get back to doing something fun. I had been planning a delightfully mischievous prank to play on prince Blue Blood, and I might as well carry it out. Goodbye Joseph… Er, Sunset. Hold yourself together."

Sunset nodded, "I will. Goodbye Discord."

With that, Discord teleported away.

At that very moment, the garden door that led to the palace swung open and two guards trotted out.

"Sir Sunset Shadow," they said with deeps bows, "Princess Celestia and Princess Luna request your presence."

Sunset nodded slowly and then proceeded to follow the two back into the throne room.

As he walked in, he noticed that everyone was back together, mane 6 and the Cutie Mark Crusaders… and they were all looking at him.

"Tell me, Sunset Shadow," said Celestia, "what do you know of demons?"

At first Sunset considered telling them the truth… but he quickly retracted the idea for fear of being rejected… but then he realized there was nothing else for it. He was at the end of the rope anyway, being rejected by these ponies really meant no difference now… but their acceptance would mean everything.

After a long pause and a deep, shuddering sigh, Sunset confessed. "Okay," he said, "I do not know if you at all will understand what I am about to say, but I will tell you everything."

Sunset then began his long confession. He explained about what he originally was, and who had given him special abilities. He then explained about traveling dimensions, making friends, dispensing justice, and bringing peace. Then he talked about the first betrayal, then the second, then the fourth, the fifth, the sixth, the seventh, and then the eight. He then confessed about his turning to evil, and how he have killed several hundred people and brought down peaceful empires. He then talked about him killing Mellissa, and then stumbling here, blind with grief, up to the point of where the Cutie Mark Crusaders prevented his committing suicide by their untimely entrance.

"And if this changed your view of me in any way, or makes you want to kill me or reject me… say it now. It matters not in the grand scheme of things," said Sunset, his eyes downcast.

The first one to break the silence was Rainbow Dash. "That… was… AWESOME!" she exclaimed, after a pause, she finished up with, "except the killing part. But everything else! Can you shoot lightning? Can you show me?"

Pinkie Pie looked thoughtful for once, "It was nice, but I liked your first one about being dragged around and meeting a random princess. What does 'betrayal' mean? Never mind. Let's go have some fun!"

Rarity was third to speak, "Shape shifting? How posh. I would love to be able to do that! Do you have an address where I could buy some?"

The Fluttershy spoke. As soon as she quietly said the word excuse me, everyone quieted down.

"I don't know what all of you think," she said, blushing terribly, "but I think no less of Sunset. He is one of my best friends, and I will do my best to help him through."

In an instant, Sunset felt something melt within his chest. Was it is black heart? Had it finally melted? It was a wonderful feeling… maybe the feeling of love.

"Three cheers for Sunset!" exclaimed Apple Blossom as she, Sweetie Bell, Scootaloo, and Fluttershy rushed to embrace him.

Celestia then turned to Luna and Twilight, "Well princesses? Does he match the prophecy?"

Sunset looked up from being hugged tightly by the CMC and Fluttershy. "What prophecy?" he asked.

Clearing her throat, Twilight gave a clear recitation of the premonition:

"One hearts will be mended,

One demon will rise;

If there is hope in his friendship,

Dark will demise;

But if the good cannot win,

A victory in turn;

Then Canterlot, Ponyville…

Equestria will burn."

Sunset cocked his head to one side and thought, while trying to escape the grasp of Fluttershy, who had continued to hug him long after the CMC had let go.

"Well… I think I have an idea about part of that poem… but it isn't good." He said as he gave up and continued to return the hug.

Celestia's eyes brightened, "would you grace us with this knowledge, Sunset Shadow?"

Sunset nodded, "I know of a demon who might be the one in the poem. His name is Abbadon. He is truly the only one who would consider fighting me, and moreover, he has a grudge to settle. I bound him with the chains of truth in the deepest circle of the infernal realm, but when my spirit was corrupted and broken, there is a high chance the chains of truth weakened or shattered. If this is the case, than no doubt he will soon escape his prison and seek me out. I was able to defeat him once, and I might possibly be able to do the same again. But not without help."

"Well, you have it! Right here!" exclaimed Rainbow Dash as she zoomed overhead.

"I agree!" said Twilight with determination.

"Um… yay?" said Fluttershy quietly as she finally let go of Sunset.

"Yeah! Let's go fight… a… demon?" Scootaloo said. Then she paused as she thought about what she had said, "Er… yeah?"

For the first time in a long, long time, Sunset burst out laughing.

* * *

_Dimension: The Inferno_

_Planet: The Inferno_

_Specific Location: The Inferno_

_Time: Eternity_

The glowing chains shattered. It had taken an immense amount of effort, but Abbadon had broken free of the shackles that had bound him. Now only one thing was on his mind: revenge.

Joseph Torrus, that was the name of the one who had defeated and bound him for nine long years. Joseph Torrus… he would pay dearly for what he had done.

With a massive explosion of dust and ash, Abbadon erupted from his prison and rocketed through the sulfurous, choking air of the infernal realm. Pausing only to whisper an unintelligible word to the frozen mountain of Azrael, Abbadon began to rise through the circles of hell faster and faster. Soon, in a flash, Abbadon had escaped the realm, and was now traversing inter-dimensional space.

"Now… where are you little Joseph?" muttered the demon of hate as he began to search for his archenemy.


	6. Chapter 6 - The Grand Galloping Gala

_Dimension: My Little Pony_

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: The border of the Everfree Forest_

_Time: Two and a half weeks after the arrival of Sunset Shadow_

"The Galloping… what?" Sunset said to Fluttershy as they sat together under a tree after a picnic. The two had been picnicking together every lunch now for the past week and a half. The last two weeks had been extremely wonderful, despite the horror of his past; everypony in Ponyville had accepted Sunset. Nevertheless, Sunset tortured himself over the terrors every night, but slowly… slowly, he had come to terms with what it truly meant to be repentant… and perhaps… forgiven.

"The Galloping Gala," explained Fluttershy, "it is a time where ponies invited from all over gather to talk in Canterlot."

Sunset pulled a face. More ponies… terrible. He had finally learned to completely suppress his violent urges a few days ago, but the thought of more rigid social interactions still was quite distasteful to him.

"I… don't… suppose I'm invited?" he said slowly, hoping it wasn't true.

"You are! We all are!" said Fluttershy with excitement.

Sunset facehoofed. Fluttershy looked curiously at him for a moment and then said, "I understand your nervousness, I really do. In fact, last time I went to the Galloping Gala, it turned out a disaster for me and my friends, and we all ended up eating donuts alone in a shop."

Sunset looked up. "Wow," he said, "that does sound tough."

Fluttershy nodded, "Oh yes, it was. There was nopony to really talk to! But I think this time will be better."

She blushed, and looked down, her pink mane covering her face, "Now… now that you're coming."

Sunset smiled. "I really don't know, Fluttershy," he said, "I think I might just end up sitting in a donut shop eating donuts alone as well."

Fluttershy smiled shyly and said, "If you do that, I will be there to."

Sunset chuckled and replied, "I appreciate your moral support. Right now, I am really just worried about breaking. I mean, I haven't thought or worried about anything going wrong in a while, but I still cannot be sure. I suppose time will tell."

At that, Fluttershy and Sunset got up. As they began to pack their things, Rainbow Dash zoomed in.

"Hey Fluttershy! Hey Sunset! Oh, do you want to race? Readysetgo!" She zoomed off, but when Sunset didn't pursue her, she came back, a little disgruntled.

Sunset just rolled his eyes. A week earlier, he had completely beaten her in a best-out-of-five hoof-wrestling match, something unheard of. He had, before the match, insisted it wouldn't be a fair fight, seeing that he had inpony strength, but Rainbow insisted that she had "inpony" strength too. In the end, he totally beat her without breaking a sweat or looking like he was even trying. Now, Rainbow Dash had made it her "life's work" to find something she could beat him in; which, so far, had proven less than fruitful.

"Not today, Rainbow Dash," he called up, "By the way, when is the Galloping, er, Gala?"

Rainbow Dash preformed a dazzling loop-the-loop before settling to a hover above Fluttershy and Sunset.

"Oh yeah," she said after a moment's thought, "Twilight wanted to tell you guys that she wanted to talk to you about that. It's in a few days, after all! Are you sure you don't want to race?"

Sunset shook his head, "Not unless you want to perform a double rainboom twice to beat me. No. I think I will walk."

Rainbow stuck her lip out a little, but then turned around and shot off into the sky.

"Oh dear, I hope she won't keep bothering you like that," said Fluttershy quietly as they watched Rainbow tear off into the distance.

Sunset sighed, "I hope not. But if she keeps it up, she will end up beating me in the patience game. Well, let's go."

After a few minutes of trotting silently together, they reached the edge of Ponyville, where Twilight was waiting for them. Sunset narrowed his eyes suspiciously, the princess looked worried, something that was never good.

As they approached, Sunset asked the question: "What's wrong?" he said.

Twilight shook her head, "The changelings have made another threat against Canterlot."

Fluttershy gasped, "Oh no!"

Sunset cocked his head to one side, "What are changelings?"

"They're terrible, shape-shifting creatures that feed off love and emotions," replied Fluttershy, "They tried to take control of Canterlot when Twilight's big brother was getting married."

Sunset took this all in and nodded slowly. "Shape-shifters you say?" he said, "I have some experience with that, and know how to point out the flaws. I will keep my eyes open."

Twilight gave him a smile, "Thanks Sunset!"

After a short pause, Fluttershy gave Sunset a hug. "I have to get going now. I will see you two later."

Sunset and Twilight waved as Fluttershy trotted away. There was another short, albeit awkward, pause. After a bit, Twilight said, "You really like her don't you?"

Sunset stood there for a moment, thinking over his possible, non-violent, answers. "Yes. I really do care for her. When I first met her, I couldn't keep my eyes off her. It was her kindness that really contrasted with my soul, and washed it away."

Twilight nodded. "She does that for all of us," she said, "even if she's a bit of a pushover."

Sunset snorted, "Not with me."

Twilight case Sunset a side-long glance. "That probably means she really likes you too."

Sunset nodded slowly, "Maybe. I have to go now and um… do something of importance that I have no idea what it is."

Twilight looked at him, a little bemused. Then she smiled. "Rrriiiggghht," she said, winking at him, "you do that."

As Twilight cantered away, Sunset continued standing in the same position, looking off at the Everfree forest, his thoughts whirling around him. He was still unstable, could he survive the Galloping Gala? He shook his head clear after festering in his worries. He had his friends beside him, and if he really needed to, he could just leave.

"I really hope these changelings don't come into the picture," he muttered to himself, "if that happens, I don't know what will become of myself. I hope I can control my rage in the field of battle once more… to protect my only friends."

Heart heavy once more with uncertainty and worries, Sunset Shadow walked off to the Everfree forest border to find his house and rest… just rest.

Sunset's eyes snapped open, tomorrow was the day; the day of the Galloping Gala. His dreams had been terrible, once again. However, unlike before, they had been more about him, killing everypony and spreading fire and chaos throughout the land. Groaning heavily, he tried to roll out of bed, only to find Fluttershy laying next to him.

"Eep!" she yelped as Sunset scrambled away, looking around wildly. He then recognized Flutterhy.

"Fluttershy," he said, half-surprised, half-relieved, "What are you doing here? How long have you been here?"

Sitting up, Fluttershy looked down as she wrung her mane. "I was coming here to check up on you, knowing that tomorrow was the Galloping Gala, to see how you were doing. It was late at night, but I couldn't sleep myself for worry, so I decided to go to your house. It was really scary. When I found you, you were all wound up, crying out. I remembered that happening during that one rainstorm, so I lay next to you to comfort you. You quieted down, so I knew it must have worked, but it was so comfortable that I guess I fell asleep too."

Sunset sighed, remembering now that in the later stages of his nightmare, a golden mist had once again muffled out all violence and terror. "Thank you Fluttershy," he said after a while, "I really needed it."

After a pause, Sunset got up and sat next to Fluttershy, who was still looking down. Pressing his forehead to hers, he said, "I think I will make breakfast now. How does fruit and dandelion pancakes sound?"

Fluttershy, still blushing profusely, nodded quickly.

Getting up, Sunset began to make them. As he worked, he ran quickly through his mental checklist for the day. They were taking the night train to the Gala, so that they could arrive bright and early the next morn for the Galloping Gala. He had his ticket, and his invitation. He also had his things packed for a two-day stay at Canterlot. All he needed now was to wait until the sun had begun to set he and the Mane 6 could gather together.

Finishing up his cooking, Sunset turned around and brought them to the table in the dining room where Fluttershy sat, looking quite a bit happier now. After eating, they went outside to lay on the grass and look at the clouds.

"Picnic lunch?" Sunset asked almost immediately.

Instantly, Fluttershy nodded, "Yes please. But you packed last time, this time it's my turn."

Sunset grinned, "Deal. Are you planning anything today?"

Fluttershy shook her head, "Not really. I need to make sure my animal friends are all cozy and ready for my long trip, but other than that, I have nothing else."

Sunset nodded in turn. "Okay," he said, "Maybe after lunch you could hang out with me."

Fluttershy blushed. "Okay," she said.

Suddenly Rainbow hissed out of the deep blue sky to land next to Fluttershy and Sunset.

"Looking up at the sky, huh?" she said, "Wouldn't it be muuuuch better to be racing though them? Right Sunset?"

Sunset groaned, "Rainbow! I only beat you in three measly games of hoof wrestling! And.. um… pushups… and sit-ups… yeah… Anyway! It doesn't matter! I was a Dimensional Traveler, I was built to be inponyly strong!"

Rainbow rolled her eyes in an exaggerated manner, "Yeah, yeah, we know all that. But how about racing? I am the only pony of this time to break the rainboom barrier! I betcha couldn't do that!"

"Um, excuse me?" said Fluttershy, "could we stop it?"

Sunset nodded vigorously, "Yeah, let's stop. Why don't we just say, yes, you are the only one, and let it go at that."

Rainbow shook her head, "No! We have to do it! Now!"

"Um, excuse me?" said Fluttershy again, "could we stop?"

Sunset closed his eyes and sighed. "Look, Rainbow," he said in a low voice, "I understand that you want to race me, but you have to understand that I really in no way want to challenge you for your 'champion of the skies' title. It was just a hoof-wrestling match, and you have to understand that I have superstrength. Please… PLEASE understand that I don't want to make you look insignificant or any of that stuff. You've earned your place as a hero of Ponyville, I haven't, there is a big difference between gained respect and a surprise victory."

Rainbow looked at him quietly for a moment. Then she said, "Oh… I-I guess I was being a little too pushy. I'm sorry."

Slowly Rainbow turned around and then took to the sky.

Sunset sighed again deep and long. Fluttershy smiled, "That was the right thing to do, Sunset."

Sunset nodded his head. "I know, but I really wish she would stop it."

Fluttershy nodded her head too sagely. "She's just like that sometimes. She doesn't take losses very well."

"I'll say," snorted Sunset as he looked at the sky, "But it doesn't matter really."

"But it does," insisted Fluttershy, "you kept your anger in check and admitted what she wanted to hear: that she is a hero. Sometimes she just wants to hear it from other ponies."

Sunset smiled a little. "I can understand that. Fluttershy, do you want to have a picnic?"

Fluttershy nodded he head, "Oh yes, I would!"

The two quickly got up and packed a lunch, then they trotted out to their favorite picnic spot.

And there the two sat until lunch, not saying anything, just enjoying the view of the sun reaching its apex.

Then they packed their picnic basket and walked out to the spot they had been eating at ever since that fateful rainstorm. Once again, they sat together, just enjoying their company. Then, without a word, they packed up their basket and returned to Fluttershy's cottage and sat on the front step. Watching the sun slowly move pasts its apex and on its way to the west.

After a long while, Sunset stood up. He then turned to leave, "I have to go now. I should pack my bags and prepare to get on the Ponyville train. I suggest you do the same."

He began to trot away when Fluttershy called out, "Sunset! Wait!"

Sunset turned and Fluttershy trotted towards him. She gave him a kiss on the cheek, and then trotted away.

Sunset stood there, thinking about what had happened for a full minute, before turning slowly around and returning to his house, at half his usual speed.

Within the next hour, Sunset was completely ready, and waiting for the rest of the Mane 6 to show up. One by one, they arrived; first Twilight, then Rainbow, then Applejack, then Fluttershy, then Rarity with Spike carrying her immense amount of luggage, and then Pinkie Pie.

As they settled in the train car, Sunset trotted over the Twilight.

"Any news about the changeling threat?" he asked.

Twilight shook her head, "I don't think so. But I know they are serious."

Sunset nodded slowly.

Despite Pinkie Pie throwing an impromptu "train party" for the rest of the time they spent awake, Sunset sat in the exact same spot, worrying about what would happen if the threats became a reality. Sunset had killed enough people in his life. His soul could not take any more violence. Heck, he still didn't even know if he could live with himself. His friends were pretty much the only people keeping him from sinking into darkness. He was sorry – so sorry! – but even if he managed to ever wipe out so much red… would it be enough to keep him from doing it again?

Twilight was the one to break his thoughts as darkness began to set in. "Alright everypony," said Twilight decisively, "I'm off to bed."

One-by-one, the ponies went to bed. After a while, even Fluttershy, who had hardly left Sunset's side since boarding the train, went off to sleep. Sunset, however, just sat there, wondering about his future… and his past.

* * *

**Note: Hello! Just to let you guys know that this chapter has been updated, not that that really means anything important. Anyways, please leave me some feedback! I love reviews!**


	7. Chapter 7 - The Attack

_Dimension: My Little Pony_

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Canterlot Train Station_

_Time: A couple of weeks after the arrival of Sunset Shadow_

Sunset's eyes snapped open. Immediately he looked around wildly, believing that his nightmares had seeped into reality, but everything was fine. He shook his head, had he really fallen asleep? As he reached into his mind, he remembered, faintly, falling asleep sometime around the time had stopped at midnight. The train had stopped? Joseph shook his head violently, trying to clear it. There was no way the train had stopped. Then the train stopped again. Alarmed, Sunset looked out the window, prepared for the worst, but everything was fine: they had arrived at Canterlot station. Condemning his wild thoughts to his nightmares, Sunset turned to wake up his friends, who all were still asleep. First he went to Fluttershy's room… empty. For a moment, Sunset stood looking into the empty room, dumbfounded. Shaking his head once again, he figured that she must have passed him by during the time he was asleep to perhaps go to the diner car. Sunset moved to Twilight's room. He poked his head in nervously, fervently hoping she was there… If she wasn't, well, that could be implications of some sinister plot. Fortunately, she was there, her head burrowed under her pillow.

Using magic to lift the pillow off her head, Sunset said, into her ear, "Wake up Twilight! We've made it!"

Groaning, Twilight rolled out of bed, almost on top of Spike who was still sleeping. Sitting up on her haunches, she looked blearily at Sunset.

"Why did the train stop? This is the second time! When will we get there?"

Sunset looked curiously, "We've made it. But… you think the train stopped before too?"

Twilight shook her head, "I thought so. But it could have just been my imagination."

Sunset then went to Rarity's room. There she was, sleeping soundly, with slices of cucumber neatly placed over her eyes. After a moment of amusement, Sunset turned to Twilight, "Eh… I think I'll let you wake her up."

The two proceeded to wake up Spike, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie. Worryingly enough, Spike, Applejack and Rainbow Dash too said they thought the train had stopped at least once before. However, at this point, Sunset had brushed his suspicions aside and went in search of Fluttershy.

As he began to enter the diner car, he bumped into her.

"Oh, hello." She said, smiling, "I didn't see you there,"

On impulse, Sunset nodded and quickly asked, "Did you feel the train stop once already before we reached Canterlot station?"

Fluttershy shook her head. "No," she said, "I didn't. We made it, didn't we? I really must be going."

With that, Fluttershy passed by Sunset, and went off to her room. Sunset stood there blinking… was it just him, or had she been a little… brisk?

Shaking his head for the third time that morning, he went off to his unused room to pick up his things. Everything was going to turn out all right, he was just being paranoid thanks to his nightmares. The group exited the train station, and began to work their way towards Canterlot castle, where Celestia had kindly invited them to say.

Twilight turned to Pinkie Pie. "Hey Pinkie," said Twilight, "There's Joe Donut's shop over there. You want to say hello before we make it to the castle?"

Pinkie just shook her head. "No," she replied, "I think I will just go to the castle and explore."

Twilight looked a little surprised, but then let it drop. Sunset didn't even notice, he was too busy trying to figure out why Fluttershy had been ignoring him. Was it something he had said… in his sleep maybe? Had he forgotten something?

Despite his worries bouncing around his head, they continued to make good time to the castle. Once again, Sunset attracted quite a bit of attention. Reporters began to arrive, and groups of well-groomed and well-dressed ponies began to trail him. Unlike last time, however, Sunset handled it quite well.

"Well, well, well," said one pony Sunset recognized as Fancy-Pants. "If it isn't my friend Rarity! I would be delighted if you stopped by my abode later today. I have some clothes of the latest fashion that I wanted you to give advice on."

Rarity looked a little preoccupied as she briskly replied, "Thank you for your gracious offer, but I really have to get to my room in the castle and prepare for the big night."

Fancy-Pants nodded graciously and moved off to the side.

Twilight, however, didn't seem as willing to let the invitation go. "Rarity!" she exclaimed, "we have all day, and you said yourself yesterday that you were completely ready for tonight! You don't need to prepare anymore!"

Rarity just sniffed. "I think I do," she replied.

Even to this conversation, and the increasing crowds, Sunset took no notice. The reason for Fluttershy ignoring him was still bothering him immensely, and it sort of fazed all else out. This continued even after he had entered the castle, readied his room, and walked out to sit in the garden. During this time, he had tried to initiate a conversation with Fluttershy three times, and each time, she had blown him off with a well-placed excuse. At first, he was frustrated, but as the Grand Galloping Gala drew near and ponies arrived at the palace to great Celestia and Luna, the frustration turned to sorrow. "Those excuses… Too well placed," muttered Sunset, brooding, as he sat in the Canterlot gardens.

"What's too well placed? Oh, dear, it looks like good old Sunset has the blues, and at the eve of the Galloping Gala? Not good."

Sunset looked around for a moment to find the source of the voice. Nothing. After a pause, a small smile appeared on his face as he remembered a saying of an old friend during an air raid of a demon fortress… "No one ever looks up."

Quickly glancing up, he saw Discord hovering a few feet above his head.

"Well, Discord," said Sunset, "It is nice to see you once more."

Discord levitated slowly down and alighted next to Sunset. "The same, the same. Now, may I enquire of the reason why your face it so – well, how should I put it? – down?"

Sunset rolled his eyes, "Well, Fluttershy is ignoring me."

At first, Discord seemed a little confused, but as he looked at Sunset's depressed face, he grinned.

"Oooooh… Little Sunset has a fillyfriend! How quaint."

At first Sunset felt like attempting to foolishly deny the accusation, but he thought better of it.

"Maybe. But what of it?"

Discord winked, "All I have to really say it… good catch! No one could ever ask for a better friend that our dear old Shutterfly. Kindness was always the best element."

Sunset shook his head. "Doesn't seem like she's been showing much kindness lately."

Discord put on a mock face of total bemusement. "Well I'll be darned! The element of kindness not being kind! What a stumper! That's almost as if Fluttershy was not being Fluttershy! But that's not possible! OF course it isn't!"

At first Sunset was totally confused, but after a few exasperated sighs from Discord, Sunset realized what was happening in all its intensity. "The train did stop twice. Fluttershy was replaced by a changeling."

Discord threw up his hand, "And the light dawns! A 9.5 for the alicorn in the blue there! Well, what are you going to do about it?"

Sunset turned to look at Discord in alarm, "Just me? What about you?"

Discord laughed, "I'm a mischief weaver, not a fighter. That's more for brawny young'uns like yourself. Anything else we missed? Hmmm?"

Sunset nodded, still on the precipice of total fury and panic. "Um, yeah. Pinkie gave up a chance to meet a good friend and eat donuts… and Rarity gave up a fashion design opportunity. They are changelings too! This means… IT'S A TRAP!"

Discord wiggled a pinkie in his ear, before detaching the said ear and shaking it over the ground. "Careful with the royal voice, it really doesn't suit a pony like yourself. Uh oh, looks like your wonderfully obvious declaration came a tad too late."

Sunset turned, at the direction of Discord's pointing hoof, to see an explosion rip through the castle.

Sunset stood up, totally terrified. Could he afford to fight? What if the sigh of blood triggered his dormant other self? What if he went wrong and killed more innocents. Then he remembered Fluttershy was in trouble. He would fight… but he would not kill. That was the way of a true hero… one that Fluttershy and Canterlot dearly needed at that moment. He turned to briefly thank Discord only to find him gone. Sighing, Sunset tore off toward the castle. As he entered through the garden doors, a sight of total chaos met his eyes. Changelings were flying every which way, pulling down tapestries and upsetting tables. A few were even roughly grabbing ponies in an attempt to capture them. So, his friends had not been the only ones to be subject to kidnapping. At first he considered using lethal force, but after a massive struggle with himself for a fraction of a second, he opted against it. Instead, he fired a massive flurry of hard water bolts at the changelings visible. They struck true, and a hail of dazed and unconscious changelings tumbled to the floor. The still conscious changelings quickly regrouped and rushed Sunset. Not even breaking sweat, Sunset waited until he could clearly see their dark eyes. He then released a massive blast of light, totally blinding them for a moment, followed up with a blast of air, ramming them forcefully against the high-walled ceiling. Another group down. Strategically, Sunset had purposefully missed one changeling. After it quickly recovered from its momentary blindness, and finding itself all alone, it sped off to search for others who might aid itself in its fight against Sunset. Smiling quietly at the success of his strategy, he trotted quietly off in pursuit of the fleeing changeling, ignoring the awestruck stare of the ponies that he saved in thirty seconds flat. The next room too was chalk-full of changelings. In this room, however, he noticed Rainbow Dash and a few Wonderbolts were viciously engaging their advisories with little success. Spreading his wings, Sunset too took to the sky. Rainbow Dash spotted him and zipped over.

"Hey! A little help over here would be appreciated! You said you had lightning powers right? Right about now would be a good time to use it!" shouted Rainbow over the sounds of chaos.

Sunset nodded, but he toned the voltages of the bolts he was preparing down immensely, so that they would only manage to stun, not kill, his enemies. Then with a mental trigger, he rained down hell. Suddenly the room was full of bolts of electricity jumping from nowhere to strike the unsuspecting changelings. They were incredibly effective, with the changelings unable to react in time. Soon the room was full of smoking and dazed changelings. Once again, Sunset had left one changeling unscathed, who quickly fled the scene to find more compatriots. Ignoring, once again, the awestruck looks from the ponies (including a flabbergasted Rainbow Dash), Sunset hurried after his fleeing enemy.

The next hall he entered too was in chaos, with Spike, Applejack, and Twilight trying to control the havoc-wreaking changelings. Dodging a few charging changelings, Sunset calmly alighted next to a frantically-magic-firing Twilight.

"I have to say I'm impressed with your composure Sunset," said Twilight as she fired off a volley of magic bolts, "But we really could use your help! They have us outnumbered a hundred-to-one!"

Sunset nodded, and he too began to fire incredibly dense volleys of stun-magic. In a minute or two, these changelings too were lying in pile on the ground. As Applejack prepared to leap upon the last awake changeling, Sunset motioned her down.

"Let it escape," he whispered. Applejack immediately caught the gist of his idea and nodded.

Keeping one eye on the retreating changeling, Sunset said to Twilight, "Twilight, take Applejack and Spike and find Rainbow Dash. You guys need to clear any halls or smaller rooms that I missed. I will follow this guy."

Twilight quickly nodded and the two sped off in different directions. The changeling led Sunset up a spiral staircase and into an ornate hallway, no doubt the bedrooms of the princesses. This hallway, nevertheless, was a state of chaos, with a hole blown through the room, and Celestia and Luna fighting off a surge of incoming changelings. Hurling off bolts of pure energy, Sunset glided up next to Celestia.

"Sunset!" exclaimed princess Celestia when she noticed his arrival, "How are my little ponies down stairs?"

Sunset smiled, "its all clear I believe. Twilight, Spike, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash are clearing up any rogue changelings that might be about. Is this under control?"

Luna shook her head and replied for her sister. "It is not," she said, "We could use your assistance."

Sunset nodded and his two front hoofs in front of his face, letting his complete control of kinetic energy well up in him. He then pointed them straight at the hordes of changelings and unleashed one massive tidal wave of energy. The force of which blasted out the changelings, stunning them all and sending them all tumbling off the tower.

The hallway was quite quiet for a whole minute as the development in the current situation sank in.

"Well," said Celestia, a little flustered, "That was easy."

"Indeed," said Luna.

Trembling, Sunset slowly alighted on the floor. "It isn't easy," he confessed, "the more power I use, the more I become infatuated with power. It was excessive attacks like this that turned me to evil in the first place. I- I've got to get myself under control."

As he took huge shaking breaths, a changeling suddenly darted out of nowhere and flashed through the hole in the roof. Luna immediately spread her wings for a pursuit, but Sunset shook his head and stood up. "Don't take it out," he said, "I need to follow it. If they are as stupid and cowardly as I think, it will lead me to their current fortress. I will be able to penetrate their defenses and save the ponies who have been captured… and Fluttershy."

Celestia looked at the shaking Sunset. "You cannot do that alone. We must prepare the cavalry."

Sunset shook his head vigorously, "No. We have no time. I am going now."

Flapping his wings, Sunset took to the sky and sped off after the fleeing changeling, leaving Celestia and Luna to look at their receding hero.

* * *

**Note: Sooo... if you are read this before the chapter 11 update then, well... never mind. The story will be extending far beyond 14 chapters. Have fun!**


	8. Chapter 8 - Recovery

_Dimension: My Little Pony_

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Changeling Fortress_

_Time: A little over two weeks after the arrival of Sunset Shadow_

It took less than half-an-hour for the changeling to arrive at his destination, and Sunset was exhausted when he realized he was there. The fortress was cleverly hidden, with the looks of a simple rise in the forest and mountains that bordered it to the untrained eye. But the changeling had led him to this exact place, and he knew exactly what to do. Charging explosive energy in his hooves, Sunset went into a dive, shrieking towards the fortress. Then, at the last moment, he veered off and unleashed his energy bolts at the bare fortress wall. The wall exploded with a road, and Sunset did a complete loop-the-loop to escape fiery debris before entering the smoking wall. The sight that met his eyes when the smoke cleared was terrible: a guard of heavily armored changelings, and the changeling queen, were awaiting him at the hole. As her horn crackled with dark magic, Queen Chrysalis laughed. "You foolish pony! You have no hope of defeating me!"

At first Sunset felt extremely compelled to do what he had always done: kill first, then ask questions later, but his time in Ponyville forced down the emotions. Then Sunset decided to do what he had never done before, plead.

"Changeling queen!" he exclaimed, "why are you doing this?"

"Why? Because I can little pony!" Queen Chrysalis laughed again. "Because I have the power to take over all of Equestria!"

"Then what?" said Sunset, slowly regaining his strength, "What king of kingdom will you have? Your subjects will either flee to other lands, or defy you? Without internal stability, what kind of civilization will you be able to call your own?"

Queen Chrysalis actually stopped laughing. This pony made sense, and it angered her. "I will have the borders closed off!" she exclaimed, "I will oppress every town, every village. There will be curfew! There will be public executions! Everyone will be forced to bow at the mention of my name!"

"But there will always be those who resist you!" persisted Sunset, "and when it all ends, when you die or are usurped, how will the history books remember you? As a tyrant? I think that you do not want that."

Chrysalis's horn shimmered even more as the dark magic dancing on it increased. "NO! NO! NO! KILL THE PONY!"

The guards charged Sunset. That is exactly what he wanted. As they rushed him, he released a massive wave of water, which swept them past him and through the hole in the fortress wall. Now it was just Queen Chrysalis… and Sunset.

She glared at him as she lowered her twisted horn. "You… you are not like the other ponies. Your reasoning is sound… and your powers astonishing. Why not join me? Our rule together will be much sweeter."

Sunset laughed. A dark, deep laugh. "You fool! I've killed more beings than you have ever dreamed of! I have brought down empires and demolished lands! I was the embodiment of evil! And now here I stand, in denial of it all! I've suffered tenfold for each drop of blood I've spilled! I've tortured myself of each blade of grass I've turned to ash. You think evil is the way? Well, go to hell!"

With that, Sunset unleashed a wave of energy bolts. Chrysalis, at the same time, unleashed a wave of dark magic, the two collided and resulted in a massive concussive explosion that rocketed the two in opposite directions. Chrysalis ended up smashing into a wall, and Sunset nearly tumbled out of the hole in the wall. Nevertheless, the two quickly recovered and began to unleash bolts of energy and dark magic back and forth, neither able to gain an advantage or take a step. As the battle see-sawed, Sunset was wildly looking for a way to come out on top. He could easily just go all-out, demolish Chrysalis, and half of the castle, but there were innocents within the building, and he would rather die than add another kill, even if it was Chrysalis, to the list of his crimes. Then an idea came to his head.

"So, tell me changeling queen, if you did somehow manage to take over Equestria, then what? What is the purpose of this whole thing anyway?!" he yelled as he dodged a hail of magic bolts.

"I must feed my people!" yelled the queen, "they hunger and thirst! I must provide!"

"There must be another way queen!" yelled back Sunset in return, "you cannot go on like this! There has to be another path!"

"Another path other than total dominance? You foolish pony, obviously you haven't tasted control! I had it once, for a moment I controlled Canterlot! I was stronger than even princess Celestia! I could feed my people and control! I must have it again!"

"You idiot! You do not know of me! I had it all once as well! With my powers, I could have it all! I killed at a moment's notice without repercussions, and had kings and queens kissing my hoofs! But I suffer… every… freaking… moment for it! Trust me, if you even have a smidgen of a conscious in there, you will suffer as I! And you will wish it all back."

"No! You are trying to confuse me! I will be loved by my people! I will be hailed as a hero!" Queen Chrysalis was noticeable agitated now, and that is just what Sunset wanted. The changeling queen began to aim less accurately and expend more energy with each bolt. Slowly she was become exhausted at a greater rate.

"Perhaps you will be loved by your people, but what of the others? What will the rest of the world think? I understand you have a responsibility, but you cannot carry it out in such a way! You have endured, and now, for the good of everypony, you must continue to endure! End it all! Dominance is not the answer!"

"NOOOOOOOOOO!" screamed Queen Chrysalis. She fired one massive bolt of pure dark magic, which Sunset easily sidestepped, and collapsed to the ground. A well placed blast of energy then knocked her unconscious.

Sunset looked quietly around the decimated hall for a moment before searching the castle. It was empty, probably thanks to the full-scale invasion of Canterlot, and Sunset was able to soon find the dungeons unopposed. Quickly, Sunset began to jail door after jail door open, and large amounts of terrified, yet grateful, ponies rushed out. It took a while for all the jails to be searched and opened, but soon Sunset came to the last one. And there was Fluttershy, curled up in a corner. With a disheveled Rarity and an indifferent Pinkie Pie in another corner.

"Hey," whispered Sunset, "I'm here."

Fluttershy looked up. "Sunset!" she exclaimed, trying to get up. She stumbled and fell over, and Sunset noticed that he had sprained a hoof badly, and that she was bleeding.

"Oh darling, Fluttershy was hurt pretty badly during our capture," said Rarity breathlessly, "she needs help."

Pinkie Pie just gave a huge smile and a bounce or two.

Slowly Sunset opened the jail door and moved inside. He nodded to Rarity and Pinkie Pie, and they quickly exited to join the group of ponies outside. He settled down next to Fluttershy and pressed his cheek firmly against hers as he said, "I am here, don't worry. Every other pony is safe, and all that is left is to get you home."

Fluttershy sighed quietly as Sunset continued to snuggle in closer. Next thing Sunset knew, she was fast asleep from exhaustion and terror. Sunset got up and gently draped her unconscious form over his back. With that, he began to trot away, directing all the other free ponies as he went. Soon they had exited the castle and entered the forest just outside. Sunset then took to the sky and quickly recognized the land marks, he was, in fact, not too far from Canterlot.

"Keep your enemies closer," quoted Sunset with a grim smile as he flew down. In no time he had directed the ponies towards Canterlot, and began to herd them towards safety. It took over four hours to get them all into Canterlot, but it was finally finished, and Sunset had come out on top… as a hero. As Sunset entered through the gates with an unconscious Fluttershy still on his back, he was joined by Twilight, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash.

"How is she?" said Twilight with worry furrowing her brow as she looked towards Fluttershy.

"She'll be fine," replied Sunset with a sigh as he put her down and settled down next to her, "she just needs to be nursed back to health, something I fully intend to do."

"Oooooh! Does that make you a nurse? Or a doctor?" exclaimed Pinkie Pie with a few bounces.

Sunset shook his head. "No," he said, "just a very good friend."

He then put her back on his back with the help of Applejack and he trotted straight off to the Ponyville train station without a word. He was finished. He was taking Fluttershy back to his cottage, and he was going to help her get better at any cost. One-by-one, the rest of the Mane 6 left, deciding that it was better to give those two space and help with the fixing of Canterlot castle.

* * *

_Dimension: Star Wars_

_Planet: Tatooine_

_Specific Location: Mos Eisely Spaceport_

_Time: 35 BBY_

Abbadon looked at the gasping inter-dimensional merchant with interest. With a final, retching gasp, the man died.  
"You did not die without your uses," said Abbadon in guttural tones, "your information is invaluable. Who would have thought that Joseph was a tyrant… who was hiding in the My Little Pony dimension? That's like apples and oranges really, but who can tell the difference when they both are burnt to a crisp?"

Abbadon turned his back slowly on the dead merchant as he began to search in his mind for the correct portal. It would take him a while, for he had not been to that specific dimension in all of eternity, but he would find it. And when he did, not all the magic in friendship would protect Joseph from his wrath.

* * *

_Dimension: My Little Pony_

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Fluttershy's Cottage_

_Time: A little over two weeks after the arrival of Sunset Shadow_

Sunset opened his eyes slowly as sunlight streamed through a window in Fluttershy's cottage. Immediately he shot up, preparing for the worst, but as the effects of his latest nightmare wore away, he remembered the event of a few days before. The changelings had invaded Canterlot by massive kidnappings and impersonations ploy that almost lost the princesses their castle. He and what remained of the Mane 6 at Canterlot defended the place successfully, and he himself went alone to rescue those captured by the changelings. He had been successful, but Fluttershy had been badly hurt during her kidnapping, and now he was attempting to nurse her back to health. He then returned to reality and attempted to get up only to find Fluttershy's head still lying gently on top of his back, a position she most probably had shifted to during the night. Sunset spent the few minutes trying to gingerly push her head back on to the pillows, with no success. Finally, he gave up and decided that he would just lay there for a while longer, his mind once again drifted over the recent event of the past. Over the next day after he left Canterlot with Fluttershy, he had spent not one waking (or sleeping) moment away from her side. She was okay, of course, but quite faint due to the trauma of horribly twisting a hoof and losing quite a bit of blood. So far, she had just lain there for the past day… sleeping, with Angel and a few mice tucked in next to her.

He was pulled out of his memories by a knock on the door downstairs. At first he thought of calling downstairs to alert them of his current situation, but he realized using the "royal voice" might disturb Fluttershy. He then attempted to struggle under Fluttershy again, but to no avail. Snorting in frustration, he just lay there, listening to the knocking occur and reoccur again and again downstairs. Eventually the door opened and Twilight called from downstairs, "Sunset? Fluttershy? Are you all okay?"

Soon she came upstairs to find Sunset in his predicament.

"Um… are you two okay?" she whispered.

"Depends. I'm stuck. But I'm fine, really… I just need to lay here until Fluttershy wakes up."

Twilight sat down next to Sunset's head and whispered, "How long has she been asleep?"

Sunset shrugged. "I don't know," he said, "about two days? I'm starting to get worried."

Twilight sighed, "The events a few days ago have been quite dramatic, being kidnapped and all."

"I know," Sunset replied, "I really, really hope she wakes up soon though."

Suddenly, Fluttershy let out a groan and looked at Twilight. "Twilight? Am I okay? Where am I?"

Angel then opened his eyes as well, but after a quick glance around, he burrowed his own head under a pillow.

Both Twilight and Sunset let out a huge breath of relief in unison. "You're just fine, Fluttershy," replied Twilight, "you are back at your house, safe and sound. However we do have a problem: you've trapped Sunset beneath you."

Fluttershy looked down at Sunset, who grinned sheepishly up back at her. Slowly she rolled off and plopped her head on a pillow. "Oh dear, I'm so sorry Sunset. I didn't see you there, you're so comfy."

Sunset sat up and rubbed the back of his neck. "So I've been told," he joked. He then got up and sat next to Twilight. "So, how are you doing?"

Fluttershy sighed, "Just fine. What happened?"

Twilight answered, "You were rescued by Sunset after being captured by changelings. He brought you back to Ponyville and nursed you back to health! I and everypony else just got back from repairing Canterlot. Everything is back to normal."

Fluttershy sighed again and closed her eyes for a moment as she let her memories return. She then rolled closer to the two sitting next to her, and kissed Sunset on the forehead before rolling back to her original position and going straight to sleep. Angel at this point got up with the mice and scurried downstairs to eat some salad and nuts Sunset had prepared for them and some of the other animals.

"I'll take that as a 'thank you.'" said Sunset as he stood up and quietly kissed the sleeping Fluttershy on the cheek. Twilight and Sunset then trotted downstairs.

"So, Twilight," said Sunset, "how goes everything in Canterlot?"

Twilight smiled, "All is well. Canterlot castle is repaired and the town is under control. The changelings have retreated, and we haven't seen hide nor hair of any of them. What did you do to their queen to keep any form of retaliation down?"

Sunset smiled as well. "I gave her a little peek into my past. That was enough for her to think twice about her ideas. I understand what she is trying to do, but she is doing it wrong, I think I helped her understand that as well."

After a short pause, Twilight said "I really appreciate what you've done for all of us, Sunset."

Sunset nodded, "A small price to pay. And it will not stop here. The prophecy implicates the eventual arrival of a demon… Abbadon no doubt. I will do all in my power to defeat him, and then I fully intend to live the rest of my life out here in peace. Away from dimensional travelers, their anarchy, and my past."

Twilight nodded. "What went through your mind as you were fighting? From what I understand, fighting really isn't one of your 'strong suits' when it comes to keeping a lid on your past."

Sunset grinned, "I was thinking of every possible way not to kill anyone. It was difficult, and every now and then I felt my old self returning, but I had it under control. Not a single changeling was killed, though a few will probably wake up with bruised or broken bones."

Twilight put a hoof on Sunset's shoulder and said, "You've done well, Sunset. You saved us all, and managed not to a single living creature… I am really proud."

There was another short pause, then Twilight stood up, saying, "I might as well leave you to take care of Fluttershy. I will be by with the rest of the gang in a little bit."

Sunset continued to sit in the same spot after Twilight left for a few more minutes thinking about what had happened recently before getting up and going to Fluttershy's bedroom. She was still there, asleep.

"This is what I truly needed… peace." Sighed Sunset as he let every bad memory, every terrible event… melt away.

A few hours later, through it seemed like seconds to Sunset, the rest of the Mane 6 arrived at Fluttershy's doorstep.

"Howdy partner!" exclaimed Applejack as Sunset let them in, "How's Fluttershy?"

Sunset smiled, "She's fine. Her breathing has steadied, and she is sleeping soundly."

"That's great! You know what we need? A PARTY!" exclaimed Pinkie Pie bouncing up and down. Quickly Rainbow Dash darted over and covered Pinkie's mouth.

"That's great!" she said, "Can we see her?"

Sunset snorted, "You don't need my permission. Go ahead!"

Quickly and quietly the Mane 6 trotted up to meet their downed member. After a few minutes of sitting around her, they came back to where Sunset was sitting.

"She's sleeping as sound as a baby!" declared Applejack, "you did good Sunset!"

Sunset nodded graciously. "Thanks Applejack. I don't know what I would do without her."

"Well, I suppose we should leave her sleeping. We were going to sugar cube corner after this, would you like to come with us?" interjected Rainbow Dash.

Sunset shook his head, "I should stay here… just in case she wakes up. I don't want her to be alone. That is the worst thing possible for anyone wounded… physically or mentally."

The Mane 6 looked at him curiously, but then left without a word. Sunset returned to Fluttershy's bedside and leaned his head against a bedpost and closed his eyes. And he slept… and for the first time, there were no nightmares.


	9. Chapter 9 - The Confrontation

_Dimension: My Little Pony_

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Crystal Mountains_

_Time: Over two weeks after the arrival of Sunset Shadow_

Breathing deeply, the demon of hate slowly looked over the land below him.

"So much… good." He rumbled. "So much… peace. Delicious."

A sparkling in the distance then caught his eye, and he looked towards what looked like a castle… the Crystal Empire.

"Perhaps you are hiding there, Joseph. Even if you are not, a little chaos will do this place good. No dimension should go without knowing the fear of demons!"

With that, he rocketed towards the Crystal Empire at incredible speeds. Ten seconds to impact… then nine… then eight… then seven…

* * *

_Dimension: My Little Pony_

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Fluttershy's Cottage_

_Time: 1002 years after the defeat of Nightmare Moon_

Fluttershy's eyes fluttered as she opened her eyes and looked towards Sunset, who was still sleeping. He wasn't whimpering, or crying out, or twisting back and forth.

Smiling, she leaned forward and lightly touched Sunset's cheek. Sunset slowly shifted and opened his eyes. He looked towards Fluttershy and smiled.

"Hello Sunset," said Fluttershy, "no nightmares?"

Sunset shook his head, "No nightmares. It was incredible. How are you now?"

Sunset then moved over and propped her up on her pillows; he then proceeded to settle in next to her.

"I'm fine, thank you. How are you?"

Sunset handed her a salad that he had prepared as he replied, "I'm fine. A little tired due to the ordeal a few days ago, but recovering."

Suddenly there was a knock at the door. Sunset quickly trotted down to the door and opened it. Twilight trotted in with Spike, who was holding two cupcakes, on her back.

"Hey Sunset! Pinkie figured that you might want something sweet, so we brought you these!"

Sunset levitated the cupcakes and placed them on a nearby table. Angel then leaped down from where he was sitting on a chair and attempted to apprehend one of the hovering cupcakes. Swiftly Sunset levitated it above his reach.

"Not yet, Angel. Wait until Fluttershy is up, then we can split them."

Angel crossed his arms, disgruntled, but complied.

Spike then hopped down from Twilight's back and handed Sunset a card.

"Here ya' go Sunset! A get-well card for Fluttershy!"

Sunset reached to grab the card, but suddenly Spike dropped the card, doubled over, and belched out a parchment letter from queen Celestia. Twilight quickly picked it up and read it, her eyes getting wider and wider.

"The- the Crystal Empire is under attack!" she yelled.

Sunset immediately shot up from playing with one of the baby squirrels and turned to Twilight.

"The what?"

"The Crystal Empire! It's my sister-in-law's empire in the north! It's being devastated by some unknown attacker! All of it!"

"All of it?" Sunset replied slowly, his eyes widening in horror, "It's Abbadon, he's found us."

Twilight began to run to the door, with Spike barely hanging on to her back, "Let's go!"

Sunset nodded, but he quickly ran upstairs before he left.

"Futtershy! The Crystal Empire is under attack! It's Abbadon! I need to protect it! Bye!"

Fluttershy immediately tried to get up, but fell back down. "Oh my! Wait for me!"

Sunset slowed down a moment to press her back to her bed and fix the covers and pillows around her.

"No Fluttershy," he said gently, "You need to stay here and rest. Angel will take care of you during this time. And remember, if I do not return, know that I love you."

"Don't return…? What?"

Sunset quickly turned around and darted out the door. He quickly caught up to Twilight and said, "we have no time to run, take to the air!"

The two alicorns immediately spread their wings and launched towards the sky. Soon they were joined by Rainbow.

"Sooooo, Sunset... You say I can't race you, but here you are racing Twilight? No fair!"

Twilight shook her head vigorously, "The Crystal Empire it under attack! We need to protect it!" She then turned to Sunset and said, "Is Fluttershy alright to fly?"

Sunset nodded, "She can fly, but she is unsteady on her feet. My magic and powers have repaired most of the damage, but she has to take it slow."

Twilight then turned to Rainbow who was keeping pace with them, "Rainbow! Get everypony else! Assemble the harmony bearers! We may not have the elements of harmony themselves with us, but we have the powers within us!"

Rainbow saluted, "Ye ma'am!" She then rocketed in the opposite direction.

"We're not going to get there in time Twi!" yelled Spike in agitation as they continued flying.

Sunset nodded, "I agree, Twilight, grab my tail and hold on!"

Twilight snatched up Sunset's tail, and Spike seized Twilight's mane, then Sunset went supersonic. The world began to blur as Sunset increased his altitude and speed, in no time the Crystal Empire came into view… the sight wasn't pretty.

The whole place was aflame, and explosions periodically burst from different areas. Soon Sunset was close enough to recognize his nightmares-come-true: Abbadon, the demon of hate.

Taking a deep breath, and using his control of wind and air to amplify his voice, Sunset bellowed down to the demon.

"ABBADON! I AM HERE TO FACE YOU!"

Quickly Sunset stopped flying and hovered in place. He then turned to Twilight, "go back and find your friends. Then circle around, he's here for me, I will keep him focused on me while you all flank him."

Twilight and Spike nodded, and they sped off.

Abbadon had turned slowly at the sound of Sunset's voice, and now was rocketing to meet Sunset in the air. Soon they hovered a few feet away from each other.

"Ahhhhh… Joseph, my bane… so nice of you to come to me… fresh."

Sunset glared at the demon and said, "I am no longer Joseph, I am Sunset Shadow!"

Abbadon threw back his ugly head and laughed. "Oh Joseph! You think changing your name will make anything different?! I know who you are, I know what you did… you will NEVER be able to make up for what you've done."

Sunset was completely ready for a battle of wits and replied, "I WILL be able to! If I let love, kindness, generosity, honesty, loyalty, laughter, and a little magic back in my heart, I will be accepted by them all when the time comes to an end."

Abbadon simply snorted, "Shall we test that? We all know that 'your time' is coming to an end right now."

With that, Abbadon released a massive blast of demonic energy. Sunset ducked and fired off a thin stream of fire in mid-dodge. The action surprised the demon and took the hit. It singed his armor, but there was no visible damage. Abbadon simply brushed off the soot and began to fire wave after wave of deadly bolts of demonic energy. As she worked, he taunted the beleaguered Sunset.

"You fool! You think this is all black and white? You cannot just use the 'friendship is magic' thing to wipe away the blood you have on your hands, oh sorry, your hoofs! You will always be branded as a murderer! Already, in other universes, tales are being spun about your tyranny, and weapon scientists are being funded to create anti-dimensional-traveler weapons just for you! You've made a legacy, Joseph, and it's a bad one. You will NEVER be able to get rid of it."

Sunset continued to dodge the bolts accurately, while returning fire. However, Abbadon had gotten the gist of the battle and now was dodging effectively as well. "I WILL be able to get rid of it!" yelled Sunset, "I will seek out those I hurt and make it right! I will make it ALL right!"

With that, the two rocketed towards each other, each conjuring long swords out of thin air while they moved. The two collided with a massive roar, and a shockwave exploded around them, rippling through the air and uprooting trees and buildings. Ignoring what was going around them, the two fought violently in the air, swiping, thrusting, and parrying. Each swing and block was met with an explosion of force and another devastating shockwave. As the continued to fight, they yelled at each other.

"I will kill you little Joseph," laughed Abbadon, "and then I will devour your heart. Then I will seek out your friends and devour their hearts as well! Then I will destroy this entire dimension as an example to those who dare oppose me!"

Sunset simply ground his teeth and replied, "You're trying to anger me. It may or may not be working Abbadon. I am too much of a seasoned fighter for that."

Abbadon grinned as another parry and another shockwave reverberated through the sky, "It's working, I can tell. But not in the way you think it is. Shall I point out the obvious? Of course I shall. You're a murderer, consumed by blood lust. Can't you feel the anger welling up? Can't you feel the need to fight… the need to kill increase?"

Sunset immediately realized what Abbadon was saying, and began to waver. Abbadon saw what was happening and pressed his attack, pushing Sunset back inch by inch.

Sunset was about to give in and tell Abbadon that he would not fight him anymore when a voice yelled out, "Sunset! It's Twilight! Remember what you fight for! Remember Fluttershy!"

It was Twilight and the rest of the Mane 6, accompanied by Cadence, Celestia, and Luna. They rocketed towards Abbadon, who turned around to meet them. As he turned to fire a wave of demonic energy, Sunset redoubled his efforts and leapt upon Abbadon's back, driving his sword deep into Abbadon's shoulder. Abbadon did nothing but laugh as he fired the wave of energy and throw Sunset away from him as if he was a rag doll. The Mane 6 and their friends scattered and avoided the blast, but their charge had been halted. Abbadon them pointedly turned his back on them and grabbed the dazed Sunset by the neck. Hoisting him high above him, he looked into his eyes and smiled.

"I win, little Joseph. Now… you… die!"

Suddenly Abbadon let out a roar as a massive blast of colorful energy exploded against his back. The energy of harmony, emanating from the Mane 6 and their friends, was streaming in and blasting against his back. Slowly, Abbadon turned around and opened a portal to prepare his escape with Sunset. But before he left, he aimed a deadly beam of powerful demonic energy and aimed it directly at the Mane 6. They were too close, he couldn't miss.

"No!" yelled Sunset. He broke free and grabbed Abbadon, he plowed into him and carried him through the portal. It closed with a pop… The Crystal Empire, and the whole of the My Little Pony dimension was safe.

Cadence was the first to speak, "What… just happened?"

Fluttershy then broke down crying.


	10. Chapter 10 - The Fallen

_Dimension: Star Trek_

_Planet: Alpha Onias III_

_Specific Location: Desolate Mountains of the Southern Wastelands_

_Time: 2122 Common Era_

Sunset and Abbadon crashed onto the desolate planet. Immediately Abbadon recovered and grabbed Sunset, hurling him away from himself. He then stood up and fired a bolt of demonic energy, it missed, but enough energy brushed by Sunset to render his right front hoof numb and useless from the blow. Slowly Sunset staggered to all fours. He then shook his head and released a massive blast of kinetic energy that caused the ground to crack and crumble. The wave struck Abbadon and sent him flying high into the air. Abbadon recovered and levitated himself in midair to avoid collision with the ground. As he did so, he fired a long stream of dark matter from his right palm. Sunset began to duck and dodge the stream as it disintegrated everything it touched. After a minute, Abbadon cut off the stream and snapped a finger. The sound reverberated, and suddenly a 10.3 magnitude earthquake encompassed the whole planet. Crumbling mountains and yawning chasms threatened to overwhelm Sunset, but he leapt with all his might above the exploding stones and spread his wings. He seized Abbadon, who was too surprised to quickly react, and hurled him with incredible strength towards the ground. The resulting explosion created a crater two kilometers in diameter.

Abbadon, however, simply shook it off and leapt out of the giant hole. Looking at Sunset hovering in the sky, he yelled, unleashing a sonic blast. This blast knocked Sunset straight out of the sky. As he fell, Abbadon charged up a massive blast of electricity and fired. Sunset twisted his body at the last millisecond, dodging the searing bolt. The bolt stuck the last standing mountain on the planet's surface and blew it to smithereens. Sunset alighted on the ground and slammed his front hoofs on the ground. Claws the size of Boeing 747s rose out of the ground to crush Abbadon. However, the demon simply ducked under them and melted them into slag with a blast of fire hotter than the center of the sun. With that, Abbadon levitated the large mass of magma over his head and hurled it in a tidal wave of molten rock. Sunset swiped a hoof through the air, and the magma froze rock solid. Swiping his other hoof through the air, Sunset commanded the small sea of ice to break up into giant shards and fly straight at his enemy. The demon reduced the density of his body for a moment and allowed the giant boulders to pass through his form and smash harmlessly against the rocks behind him. He then solidified again. Suddenly, though, a well-timed beam of light energy from Sunset blinded him as he rematerialized and he staggered straight into a blast of kinetic energy. The blast was so strong, in fact, that it knocked him straight into orbit.

Sunset took a long, deep breath. He looked up at the sky and expected to see Abbadon flying straight back at him, which he did. Unfortunately, that wasn't all that was flying at him. Using his power over geo-magnetic energy, Abbadon was levitating a small moon straight at the planet. An entire moon. Sunset groaned, but simply threw up a powerful energy shield just as the massive rock, a couple hundred kilometers in radius, smashed into the globe, knocking a third of the whole planet into space. The shield flickered and collapsed from the blow, but Sunset was safe. He quickly teleported out from under the colossal pile of rubble to face Abbadon. He reared back a hoof and prepared to hurl a bolt of gravimetric energy denser than a white dwarf star… this blast would certainly cause anything in a two hundred kilometer radius to be compressed into a piece of matter the size of a marble. He was about to hurl the bolt when his senses picked up something. Going on a hunch, he quickly checked the travelers database. What he saw stopped his heart for a moment: this planet was inhabited… And the battle had just demolished it. If he continued to aggravate Abbadon, the battle would intensify to unprecedented levels, and the planet, and probably the whole solar system, would be destroyed. Countless innocent lives would be lost, and whole ecosystems would be extinguished. He wouldn't, he couldn't, keep fighting. Sunset put down his hoof.

He glared defiantly at Abbadon and ground out, "I will not fight you Abbadon!"

Abbadon reached Sunset in a single stride and struck him across the face.

"You won't fight me? That really makes my life easier. Oh wait… Are you trying to evoke the chains of truth back onto me? You fool! Those chains only go to those who are pure of heart, something you're no longer capable of. Don't you understand? You have no shape-shifting abilities, no dimensional traveling abilities, and no chains of truth abilities. You are weak and helpless… now beg for mercy, and I will end it all swiftly."

Suddenly, Abbadon reeled as if from a blow from behind. Just behind the demon was a figure… that figure was Discord.

"I say, that's not at all nice little demon!" Laughed Discord.

Abbadon turned to look at Discord, "Discordious? Hilarious. I thought you gave up the right to be called a hero of the multiverse long ago!"

Discord floated into the air as he replied, "And I have, but that doesn't mean I cannot do something for another. And just look at that! I can still travel between dimensions! Who would have thought? Anyway… Sunset! You must come to terms with yourself! Only then will you be able to save yourself! I am no fighter… but I can cause a good distraction!"

Suddenly a massive army of Abbadon copies appeared from nowhere… and jumped on the true demon of hate.

"What? N-No! How is this...? Ack!" Exclaimed Abbadon as he was buried.

Sunset slowly sat up, groaning. Come to terms with himself? How was that possible? Abbadon was right, he was still a killer, and he was hated everywhere. If everyone hated him, how could that mean he was good? Sunset buried his face in his front hoofs. He was hopeless. Hundreds of lives… lost… he had killed them. How could he live that over? How? By letting love back in? Impossible, that wasn't enough... was it?

A single tear formed in his left eye as he contemplated his fate. He was going to die… and when he died, Abbadon would be done. He would leave them alone. Perhaps this was his destiny… to let it all go.

Then the awful realization came to him: Abbadon had been lying. He wasn't going to stop, he was a demon! He would continue to kill and fight and destroy, and his first target would be the last reminisce of the Joseph he hated… the My Little Pony dimension. He would burn Canterlot, Manehattan, Ponyville… He would kill all his friends. He would kill Fluttershy. At the thought of Fluttershy, another realization came to him… She loved him… and he loved her back. The entire dimension viewed him as a hero. Granted, that did not wipe out the past, but it gave him a shot at making it all better. He had friends, and he knew he was capable of repentance, and love.

At that moment, Abbadon broke free of his clones and attempted to grab Discord. Discord floated away laughing. "So close, Abbadon! Try again!"

Abbadon hurled a wave of bolts of demonic energy at Discord. He dodged them and snapped his fingers. Tentacles of earth exploded from the ground and encased Abbadon in a writhing mass. There was a moment of silence, then the tentacles exploded with a rending blast, sending shards of stone in every direction. Abbadon conjured up an arsenal of demonic lances and hurled them in a vast wave at Discord. Discord simply flashed out of existence and then flashed back in as the projectiles passed harmlessly by. He snapped his fingers again and zombies and endermen akin to the ones in the Minecraft dimension rose up out of the ground and surrounded and seized Abbadon. The demons snarled and began to blast away legions of the creatures with massive bolts of demonic energy. The moment he finished off the last one, he whirled with incredible speed and hurled a demonic sword straight at Discord.

Discord, who had originally been sitting in a hovering easy chair and drinking a soda, got up and dodged the sword. He then hurled a blast of colorful spellbinder energy. The bolt stuck the demon, and he fell to his knees as his senses became extremely disoriented. Discord was about to remark on how fun this was when Abbadon hurled a bolt of electricity at random. It was pure luck, but the bolt struck Discord in the chest, shocking him enough to cause him to stop the spellbinder bolts coming and fall to the ground, dazed, but mostly unhurt. Dizzily, he tried to get up, but Abbadon seized up him by the throat.

"I'll deal with you later," he ground out as he opened a portal back to the My Little Pony dimension and hurled Discord through. He then turned to Sunset, grinning.

"They'll all pay for that, perhaps submerging the planet with lava would be a good idea… don't you think?"

Sunset unsteadily stood up and said, "It's over Abbadon, you cannot win."

Abbadon laughed, "I most certainly can win! I am a demon! A fallen Angel of the Heavens! I have all the power in the multiverse, and I… cannot… die!" With that, he extended one gnarly claw and pointed it at Sunset and charged it with demonic energy.

Sunset continued, "You will not win. You may be powerful, but you will be always just like the old me: hated. You will be feared, and you will be fought. You will never know peace, respect, or awe… you will only know war. And for all eternity, you will be alone… without love… and that is the truth!"

Then something happened: a massive blast of gold energy exploded from Sunset at the same time Abbadon fired the blast. The gold energy immediately enveloped Abbadon and carried him off his feet.

"What? The chains? B-but that means you are pure of heart! But that's not possible! THAT IS NOT POSSIBLE!"

With that, a portal back to the deepest ring of the infernal realm opened and Abbadon was borne, screaming, off to his prison.

Sunset smiled a calm smile… he did it. And he was back to being a true hero. Then he felt cold… the blast from Abbadon… it had hit its mark. Sunset slowly looked down to see a hole in his side, oozing blood. Slowly Sunset fell to his knees, and then to the floor. As he faded into oblivion, he smiled calmly. He did it, Abbadon was once again trapped, and Sunset's soul would always remain pure beyond the grave. His friends… no, his family… was safe… always safe. Then Sunset, the hero, died.

* * *

_Dimension: UNKNOWN_

_Planet: ERROR_

_Specific Location: I AM NOT GOING TO TELL YOU_

_Time: TAKE A GUESS_

Sunset opened his eyes groggily, the sight that met his eyes were astonishing: he was in a grassy meadow covered in flowers. Suddenly he was aware of a presence and he tried to sit up, only to find he was still in his pony form. He quickly scrambled onto all fours and turned to face the entity behind him. It was the Paradox, wreathed in golden light.

"Paradox? Am I… Am I dead?"

There was a long pause…

"No."

Sunset looked around, "Impossible… Where am I?"

"You are back at the same spot you arrived when you first began to understand the meaning of love."

Sunset looked at the Paradox, "What now?"

"You return to your friends."

Sunset looked closely at the Paradox for a moment, and then said, "But what about the other universes? What will they think?"

Paradox shook its head and said, "It matters not what they think. However, I have returned you to your full power, which I took away at the beginning. You may go on a journey of redemption if you wish… but I sense you have one special pony waiting for you."

Sunset nodded slowly, "I do. But I must make right with the multiverse what I did wrong."

Paradox chuckled, "That can wait. Go…"

Sunset began to walk away, but then turned to the Paradox and said, "What of the multiverse though? And the era of Anarchy?"

The Paradox slowly began to levitate and dissolve into the morning light. As it did so, it said, "It is not of your concern, little one. But it soon will be. A force darker than the demons of the infernal realm is at work here, and it soon will show itself. Perhaps you do not yet need to make rights with the multiverse, for that time will come in faster than you will want, and the time for you to once again be a hero will arise."

With that, the Paradox disappeared. Sunset then looked at his side… completely healed. He then looked around as his memories flooded back. He quickly walked over to his house and looked at it… empty. He then began to trot off to Ponyville to see what might be there. As he got closer, he became aware of a large group of ponies gathered in the town square. As he got even closer, his sharp ears picked up the voice of Mayor Mare speaking.

"We gather here today," She said somberly, "to mourn the loss of our hero: Sunset."

Sunset raised an eyebrow… They assumed him dead? Almost ironic, and a whole lot embarrassing.

Slowly, he made his way through the crowd, listening to his eulogy all the way.

"Very few of us knew him well, but those who did, said he was the greatest alicorn of this time. Kind, Honest, Generous, Funny, Loyal, and Loving. We will miss him dearly."

As he got closer, he noticed the Mane 6 in the row; all in tears… even Rainbow Dash.

Feeling worse and worse, Sunset slowly made his way to the front, and sat next to Pinkie Pie, who, probably for the first time in her life, was quite sad.

"So Pinkie," Sunset said, "I was that awesome?"

Pinkie looked over and nodded sadly, "Oh, you were. I really wish you were still with us, sitting next to me and talking with me like you are right now."

Sunset nodded, "I wish that too. It's almost as if this is not unreal."

Pinkie paused to think about what Sunset had said, and then nodded, "I wish that this was not not real as well."

Sunset then realized that Pinkie was totally not getting it and looked closely at her. "Um Pinkie… Do I look dead to you?"

Pinkie looked closely back, "Yep."

Then Fluttershy noticed Sunset.

At first, she stared blankly at him… and then she yelled, probably louder than she ever had, "HE'S HERE HE ISN'T DEAD!"

She zoomed over and leapt upon burying him under a hail of kisses and hugs. The entire assembly fell apart. Rarity and Mayor Mare feinted, Rainbow zoomed off and preformed a rainboom in the excitement, Pinkie began yelling about a party, Applejack attempted to wake up Rarity, and Twilight ran over to hug Sunset too.

Suddenly, Sunset knew exactly what he had to do. Pulling up Fluttershy to the stage, he walked over to the microphone and said to Fluttershy, "Fluttershy, I've had a long time to think about this, and I want to ask you a question: will you marry me?"

With that, Sunset raised a hoof and conjured pure gold bracelets out of thin air with a dazzling show of bursts of light and color. He extended one to her. The assembly went deathly quiet, awaiting Fluttershy's response.

Fluttershy blushed profusely, and looked down at her hoofs. After a moment, she peeked lovingly at Sunset through her flowing pink mane. "Yes," she whispered, "I will marry you."

* * *

**Note: Wait everypony! Don't go away yet! This story is far from over! I have already begun on the second part of this story, so just wait until the next installment! Oh, another note: this chapter has been updated. Is the battle awesome or what?**


	11. Chapter 11 - Faliure

_Dimension: Warhammer 40k_

_Planet: Krieg_

_Specific Location: The Red Expanse_

_Time: The 17th Millennium_

Lord Abimael "James" Sethson telepathically contacted his team as they stood outside an old demon fortress.

"Okay team, the traveler database said this place has been deserted for two thousand years, but my sources say otherwise. There should be a dimensional-nuke factory in there somewhere, and we are going to find it, disable it, and kill whoever had the idea and burn their plans."

"What if they are fellow travelers, James?" a voice answered back. James recognized it as the voice of Roger, his team's brains.

"This era of anarchy might be tough, but that means we must be examples, guys. If we find them, apprehend them. There will be no traveler code-breaking today."

"Roger that boss-man," answered another voice, Brandon. The team's muscle.

James nodded, his team was backing him. "Alice, I am going in, keep your sniper rifle trim, because we will flush out as many as we can. Brandon, follow me up. Martin, escort Roger to the control room safely. Roger, get control of their security and shut it down. Miranda, get our extraction ready. Here we go."

Immediately James moved in, with Brandon right behind them. First hallway: clear. Second hallway: clear. Third hallway: clear.

"Um, boss-man? I think your accurate sources were less accurate than the traveler's database this time." Said Brandon.

James nodded slowly as he pulled out his anti-demon magnum. He pointed it nonchalantly at an emancipated curtain to his left and pulled the trigger. The blast struck the mark, but instead of the curtain crumbling to nothing, a demon uncloaked, with a hole in its middle, and collapsed to the floor.

Brandon stared at the carcass for a few seconds. "Oh… well… yeah."

James smiled as he contacted the rest of his team. "Alice, they know we're here. Martin, pick up the pace and stay near windows so Alice can cover for you as long as she can."

A flurry of "roger" and "got that" answers came back at him and James nodded decisively: they were ready.

James and Brandon continued to move in deeper. Suddenly, James stopped in front of an average-looking door. Peering closely at it, James turned to Brandon and said, "There are at least twenty demons behind this one. Brandon, take the front while I sneak around. Don't get killed or I'll kill you."

Brandon grinned and lumbered to the door. With a single punch, the door exploded… and twenty demons lurched towards Brandon. This would have been regularly terrifying if not for one fact: Brandon was armed with a Quad-Gatling-Gun, the highest power handheld weapon in the multiverse. In seconds twenty demons had become ten, and the survivors attempted to scurry to cover only to find James waiting them. Then ten became zero. Brandon slowly moved in and the prepared to move into the next room. Looking it up and down, James turned to Brandon and said, "There are about forty behind this one, prepare a singularity grenade."

Brandon grabbed one from his belt and hoisted it in the air, James kicked down the door and ducked as Brandon hurled the grenade into the room. It went off and a small black hole formed for ten whole seconds, emptying the entire room of any contents… except demons. James looked in… no demons? He had been wrong? How was that possible?

Still staring suspiciously into the room, he signaled to Brandon and said, "That's weird. Brandon, on my six. Let's move… Brandon?"

He turned to see Brandon staring straight ahead blankly, with a demon spear through his heart. James turned to see at least fifty demons charging him from behind. Behind? How did they circle around? How was that possible? Brandon, dead?

With a yell, James charged the fifty demons, immediately engaging them and getting the upper hand. However, as he fought, he heard a myriad of voices in his head… his team, contacting him telepathically.

"James! This is Martin! We're under attack! Alice isn't supporting us! Where is she-"

"James! This is Miranda! I found Alice dead! What's going on-"

"James! This is Roger! Martin is down! They're everywhere… OH MY GOD-"

His team was dead. It was over. James went nova... something he had not done for over two hundred years. Immediately the entire room, and half the planet, was demolished. Surveying the damage, James then realized that there had never been a weapon factory here… he had been tricked… and his teammates were all dead because of it.

Exhausted and flabbergasted, James sank to his knees. He had lost. For the first time ever, he had lost.

He shook his head as if trying to clear it… but his head had filled with a red mist and a loud buzzing noise reverberated in his head as his stomach flipped back and forth. He… had… lost. As this phrase bounced around his head, he began to think about how terrifying it was… considering who he was.

James wasn't your typical dimensional-traveler. In fact, James wasn't your typical SPECIAL dimensional-traveler. James was the firstborn… he was the beginning. James was the most powerful and most respected of the travelers, and he was the first being ever to be made a dimensional traveler by the Paradox. He never lost, and he never failed… until now.

James stared at the ashes of the burning fortress as he went over these very facts in his head. Had he lost his touch? Undeniably now. He was eight thousand years old, though he still resembled a twenty year old, and perhaps an argument could be made that he still acted like a teenager… but James knew one thing… he had lost it, his skills were diminishing almost as fast as his hope.

He, like Joseph Torrus, had been betrayed more in the past ten years than in the entire eight thousand years of his life, but unlike Joseph, he had remained strong. He was the firstborn, the example, and he intended to carry out justice until his dying breath. And then the most awful realization of all hit him… Brandon, Alice, Martin, Roger, and Miranda… they had been the last know travelers to still uphold the code… and they were dead. James was all alone. The travelers were gone. There were no more inter-dimensional superheroes, no more white knights of the multiverse now… there were only rogues and traitors. Abimael "James" Sethson staggered to his feet. He had just gone nova, and he could feel the drain of energy eating away at the edges of his vision, if he didn't find a place to rest, he would pass out, and the collapsing planet would consume him. Quickly he searched through the myriad of locations of dimensions stored away in his mind, and he soon realized all his hideouts had been destroyed by the traitors and all his favorite dimensions were overrun by inter-dimensional mercenaries. Then, in the back of his mind, he recalled a single dimension that was so remote, that it might be free of all the terror that the era of anarchy had wrought… the My Little Pony dimension. Staggering slightly, James opened a portal directly into the dimension's home planet and he walked, shaking, through.

* * *

_Dimension: My Little Pony_

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Sunset's and Fluttershy's House_

_Time: 1004 years after the defeat of Nightmare Moon_

Sunset awoke feeling immensely braced. He had been here for two years and counting now, and all was well. He had a beautiful and loving wife: Fluttershy, and everyone on the planet respected and loved him. In fact, many hailed him as the next Starswirl the Bearded, and the next revolution of the era. Sunset had brought many innovations to light in the past couple of years, including electricity (and yes, video games), clean energy, and the internet. The planet was at complete peace with each other, and relations with other countries were healthy and friendly. And best of all, they had a large, wonderful new house… and even better than that… a baby pony was on its way.

Sunset trotted downstairs, while trying to pull off Angel who was insistent on gripping his left ear, and was met by Fluttershy. They quickly kissed and Sunset said, "Good morning! How's the baby?"

Fluttershy sat on her haunches and patted her slightly bloated stomach, "She's all right I think," said Fluttershy, "she's even started kicking. My, I cannot tell you how surprised I was when she started. Listen."

Sunset slowly walked up and put an ear to Fluttershy's stomach. Faintly, he heard a "thump... thump..." To Sunset, it was the most beautiful sound he had ever heard.

Sunset grinned, "You up for a walk to town? I think we should celebrate with some cupcakes!"

Fluttershy stood up and nodded readily, "Oh yes, I would love that. But let's have breakfast first. Riiight, Angel?"

With that, Angel hopped off Sunset's head and dove into a large bowl of lettuce.

Side-by-side, the two ate quietly, simply enjoying each other's company. After they finished, the got up and left quickly without saying a word. In a few minutes, they made it into town. As Sunset walked, he was joined by Rainbow.

"Nice morning, Rainbow!" exclaimed Sunset, "You've really outdone yourself this time!"

Rainbow winked, "Nah, that's impossible, even for myself! Hey Fluttershy!"

Fluttershy smiled up at her, "Hey Rainbow Dash! How are you?"

Rainbow floated on her back as she kept pace with Sunset, "Same-old, same-old. Kinda bored actually. Oh! Sunset! Let's race!"

Sunset rolled his eyes, in the entirety of the two years, the two had only raced twice. Both time ended in several successive rainbooms, and both time they had ended up in a tie. "No Rainbow," said Sunset, "unless you want to help rebuilding the entire town again, I think not."

Rainbow pouted a bit, but soon recovered. "Yeah, yeah, whatever. See you all later." With that, she rocketed into the sky.

Fluttershy and Sunset continued to Sugar Cube Corner. As they entered, Pinkie Pie dashed out to meet them!

"Well! If it isn't may favorite ponies of all time?! Here' s some cupcakes I reserved for my friend friend friend friends!" With that, she shoved a whole box of delicious cupcakes into Sunset's hoofs. As soon as she did that, Pinkie said, "I actually got to skedaddle right now! I have some stuff I need to do! A lot of bouncing to be done!"

With that, Pinkie skipped off, humming a little tune. Sunset looked at the huge box of cupcakes. "Well… I don't think it would be a good idea to eat these all."

Fluttershy nodded, "Oh no, not at all. Let's take some to Twilight!"

Sunset nodded and they quickly trotted off to Twilight's library. The knocked on the door, and Spike answered it.

"Well hey Sunset and Fluttershy! How are you guys doing?"

Sunset nodded graciously, "We are just dandy Spike! How are you?"

Spike bowed, "I am fine, sir. Would you like to speak to Twilight?"

Sunset nodded, and tossed Spike a cupcake. Spike left, munching it, and soon Twilight appeared.

"Hello everypony!" Twilight exclaimed, going up to hug Fluttershy and Sunset, "How are you?"

"We're just fine, thank you," said Fluttershy, "how about you?"

Twilight gave her a huge smile, "I'm fine, thanks! How's the baby?"

Fluttershy returned the smile, "She's fine. Thank you for asking. Oh, would you like some cupcakes? Pinkie Pie gave us a whole box of them."

Twilight nodded her head, "Yes please!" Fluttershy handed off a couple more to Twilight, and they parted ways.

"I guess we should go home to eat these," said Sunset as they walked away.

"Oh, we should go to our special spot. Just for a little bit at least," replied Fluttershy.

Sunset nodded, "Okay, good idea!"

As they passed town square, Sunset noticed a large gathering of ponies. Curious, Fluttershy and Sunset trotted over… Sunset then noticed that a pony was lying in the middle, quite still.

"Out of the way please!" exclaimed Sunset, "somepony call an ambulance!"


	12. Chapter 12 - Flaming Star

_Dimension: My Little Pony_

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Ponyville Town Square_

_Time: 1004 years after the defeat of Nightmare Moon_

Sunset ran up to inspect the pony, and he was totally flabbergasted when he saw it.

It was an alicorn… an alicorn stallion to be exact. The pony was a bright yellow, with a dark brown mane. On his flank was a deep blue circlet, with an elaborate, deep blue sword sticking through the ring horizontally. Slowly the alicorn opened his eyes to look at the ponies surrounding him… his eyes were also a deep blue. Slowly still, the pony got to his feet. At first, he tried to stand like a bipedal, but he soon resigned to standing on all fours.

"What the hell am I?" He exclaimed, "Oh my god, don't tell me that this universe… oh yeah. My Little Pony… I get it. Hilarious. Look, I come in peace, I am here to rest."

The ponies murmured amongst themselves and backed off in fear. The only two to approach the strange pony were Sunset and Fluttershy, who kept well behind.

Sunset walked up, squinting his eyes. Then the alicorn took notice, "what are you looking at?" he said.

"Oh my god," breathed Sunset, "the firstborn… JAMES!"

The alicorn immediately recognized Sunset's voice and threw up a hoof. It crackled with electricity as he pointed it at Sunset's face.

"Well, well, well… If it isn't Joseph Torrus! The madman of the multiverse!" said James through gritted teeth, "who would have thought you were here. What are you up to? Corrupting the souls of the inhabitances? Forcing them to build a sky-scraping monument in your name?"

Sunset scrambled away quickly, exclaiming, "No James! No! I am reformed! Paradox said so! In fact, I was able to conjure the chains of truth once more and bind Abbadon!"

"S-S-Sunset? What's going on?" whimpered Fluttershy, still cowering.

James turned his blazing eyes on the yellow Pegasus. "And who is this? Your personal slave? How quaint."

This time, Sunset got mad. "That is my wife you freaking idiot! Back off."

James's mouth dropped open as he realized that Sunset was telling the truth… and that Fluttershy was pregnant.

"My god… Well… That's… Well…"

Sunset, still glaring intensely, then said, "What brings you here, firstborn?"

Suddenly a wearied and pained expression filled James's face. He sat down on his haunches and looked Sunset in the eyes.

"Torrus, the good travelers are all dead. I had gathered the few white knights of the multiverse who were still alive and made a team. We took out large amounts of mercenary fortresses, black markets, and demon hives… but on our last mission, we were tricked… and they were all killed."

Sunset sat down slowly too, his eyes filling with horror. "Does that mean…?" whispered Sunset slowly.

"Yes," said James, "if you are truly good, then we are the last living heroes of the dimensions. Everyone else have either turned or been killed."

James slowly lay down and buried his face in the dirt. "I- I cannot take it anymore. I failed. I've never failed."

Sunset placed a hoof on James's drooping shoulders, "I've known failure, and I understand, but you must pull yourself together!"

James shook the hoof off violently and exclaimed, "You don't understand do you? I've NEVER failed. Hell, I've lived eight thousand years and I haven't lost a battle, or lost hope for our kind. I've failed!"

"Failed what? A test? That's terrible!"

Fluttershy and Sunset turned to see Twilight walking up to them; the group of ponies had dispersed to go about their own business, and it was just them alone in the town square. She then noticed James. Her mouth nearly dropped to the floor.

"Wha…? Huh…? Not possible… OH MY GOSH!" she ran up to James and said, "How are you? Who are you? Where are you from? Do you know Sunset?! Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh!"

James scrambled up and placed a hoof firmly over her mouth. "Stop please."

After a moment, Twilight calmed down and James removed his hoof. Clearing his throat, he said, "I am Lord Abimael 'James' Sethson. Dimensional Orientation: MAO-9. Generation: 1st. Power tier: 1. The 'firstborn' dimensional traveler."

Twilight bowed her head, "I am princess Twilight Sparkle."

James, still grim, curtly bowed back.

Sunset and Fluttershy, who were looking on, gave each other side-long glances and rolled their eyes.

James looked towards Sunset, "Torrus, how long have you been here?"

Sunset grinned, "I've been here a little over two years now. I'm married, and will soon a family… unless you already count our rabbit Angel and our animal friends."

James raised his eyebrows cynically, but didn't say anything at first. After a moment, he sighed, "Well, you wouldn't mind sharing the same dimension as me, would you?"

Sunset winked, "Of course I wouldn't, it would be an honor to be near the firstborn."

James snorted, "I would have graciously accepted that honor a few years ago… but no longer. Torrus, what the hell are we going to do?"

Sunset sat down next to James. "Wait," he said, "The Paradox spoke to me a while back, and said that a great evil would soon reveal itself, at that time, we must be ready. However, it seems that though the era of anarchy is reaching its climax, that evil is not yet evident. We must wait."

James buried his face in the dirt again and groaned, "Torrus, I've lived eight thousand freaking years… I cannot wait any longer."

Sunset rolled his eyes, "Yes, James, I KNOW you've lived eight thousand years. EVERY being knows you've lived eight thousand years."

The bite in Sunset's tone seemed to invigorate James a bit, and he sat up again. "Well, what am I going to do, then, Torrus?"

Sunset thought for a moment, then replied, "First, you're going to stop calling me Torrus and start calling Sunset, or Sunset Shadow. Then, you're going to stop going by the name firstborn, or James, or Abimael 'James' Sethson; find yourself a reasonable pony name."

James looked at Sunset as if he had gone insane. "My god Torrus," he said, "this place has really gotten to you!"

Sunset rolled his eyes again, "Yeah, yeah. Go ahead, James, think of a name."

James actually looked like he was putting in a great deal of thought for a few moments. After the pause, he said slowly, "I think… I think my name will be… Flaming Star… though James or firstborn still suits me much, much better."

Sunset nodded to Flaming Star and said, "Right. Nice choice, though I cannot really see you as one. Are you sure you want that as a name? Ponies will be calling you this from now-on-out."

Flaming Star nodded, "It represents what I am. I am as old as a star, and I still have fire in me… though an argument could be made that I am a dying star as well."

Twilight, who was obviously taken by Flaming Star, smiled at him and said, "No, it's perfect. A bright star for all to see. Oh! Do you want to come by my library? I have all kinds of books about stars!"

Flaming Star looked nervously at Twilight, and said, "Er… no, thanks any way though. I really have to get settled in… somewhere…"

"Oh!" said Fluttershy happily, "he could stay with us!"

Immediately Flaming Star and Sunset began to give out lame excuses until they both quieted down awkwardly. Flaming Star immediately turned to Twilight, "I… er… actually think I would like to see those books you have."

Sunset then said, "But Flaming Star, you don't have a house yet!"

Flaming Star nodded, "Yeah, I know, but I know I can build one quickly. Power tier 1, remember?"

Sunset nodded and turned to Fluttershy, "Let's go dear."

Fluttershy nodded and followed Sunset off to their house on the borders of Ponyville.

Flaming Star watched the receding figures of Sunset and Fluttershy and commented to Twilight, "Has Torrus, er, Sunset Shadow really changed?"

Twilight nodded vigorously, "He has! I didn't know much of his past except what he told me, but I understand that there has been an amazing change… Fluttershy seems to think so at least."

Flaming Star shook his head in disbelief, "he got married… and now he's going to have kids! I wonder if I sometime should get hitched…" After he said that, he sighed sadly.

Twilight, who was slightly blushing, looked at Flaming Star. "What's the matter?" she said.

"Eh… it's nothing really… I mean… I've lived for so long that… that everything has started to lose meaning!"

Twilight smiled. "I understand what you mean," she said quietly, "As an alicorn, I have to embrace eternity as well. I may be young, but I understand that princesses live far longer than any other type of pony… so I have a long life ahead of me."

Flaming Star turned to look at Twilight with interest. He raised his eyebrows cynically as his perceptive eyes blazed into her soul. After a long pause, Flaming gave a little half-smile and said, "I think I would like to see those books now, princess Twilight Sparkle."

Twilight blushed lightly and said, "Please, call me Twilight, Flaming Star."

* * *

_Dimension: The Inferno_

_Planet: The Inferno_

_Specific Location: The Inferno_

_Time: Eternity_

To the average hell-bound onlooker, the frozen mountain of Azrael looked like an enormous pile of frozen rock and ice, twice the size of Mount Everest, but what those damned did not know was that it was also a prison for one of the most feared demons of all time: Legion.

He had been responsible for the destruction of many a dimension, and had clashed and been driven off many a time by Lord Abimael "James" Sethson. However, after an extremely humiliating defeat during the year 34 Anno Domini in Earth Prime years, Legion was trapped within the frozen colossal that is Mount Azrael. There he had existed, trapped for 1980 years… waiting for a chance to escape.

Over the massive vertical frozen expanse of the colossal mountain, a thin, small crack formed on the ice, caused by who-knows-what. But bit by bit, the crack grew… In time, the crack would be large enough for the demon commander-in-chief, Legion, to escape.

* * *

_Dimension: My Little Pony_

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Twilight's Library_

_Time: 1004 years after the defeat of Nightmare Moon_

Flaming Star, still with eyebrows critically raised, trotted into the Twilight's library. As he looked around, Spike walked in.

"Hey Twi! How are- woah! Who is that?!" Spike said excitedly pointing to Flaming Star.

"I am Lord Abimael… I mean, I am Flaming Star. Pleased to meet you," said Flaming Star.

Spike looked completely dumbfounded. After a moment of searching for words, he turned to Twilight, "he- he's an anicorn!"

Flaming Star put his head to one side, "I did not know that alicorns seemed to draw forth such unnecessary awe, should I shape shift to something else?"

Spike's jaw dropped even further as he said, "you can SHAPE-SHIFT?"

Twilight shook her head as she ran to Spike over to ensure he didn't feint. "No, Flaming Star, I think you're fine just the way you are!"

Flaming Star looked at her curiously, but he nodded… and then smiled a full smile… He liked this pony. She was awkward, young, and inexperienced, and it was obvious that she had a crush on him, but she was interesting nevertheless.

Flaming Star turned to observe the entire library. Nothing, huge, just… homely. After looking over the place, Flaming Star turned to see Twilight behind him, holding a book on stars. She beckoned vigorously for him to sit next to her and look at it. Flaming Star looked at her for a moment, then he rolled his eyes and sat down next to her.

"Look at this!" exclaimed Twilight, "according to the book, stars are massive burning ball of fire billions of miles away. Young stars are called protostars, and they accumulate mass from the clouds around them from their formation to become main sequence stars. These types of stars are like our sun! No pony has ever seen a star form though… ever, so the creation of protostars remain a mystery."

Flaming Star peered at the beautifully illustrated pictures before saying, "I've seen a star form."

Twilight's eyes widened in wonder as she turned her head to look at Flaming Star. "You have?" she breathed.

Flaming Star, feeling annoyed by the attention, shrugged derisively and said, "It was nothing big. I was in a universe battling a demon to keep him from an ancient time-controlling artifact when the old relic broke. Suddenly, a time bubble formed around me and my advisory, and time all around sped up by a million. In seconds, the world around us crumbled to nothing, and we were surrounded by an empty expanse of space. Nevertheless, off in the distance, I saw a nebula – which had been extremely close to the battle we were fighting on – slowly collapse on its own self gravity and form cloud fragments… these cores soon compressed and ignited via fusion… a protostar was born. Of course, then I pushed the demon into the star and it was incinerated into nothing… it was pretty interesting."

Flaming Star glanced over at Twilight with a small smile as he added the last part. Twilight's eyes had been growing wider and wider as he described the phenomenon… until he added the violent death of the demon.

She frowned and looked away. Flaming Star just grinned.

After a bit more time spent on reading the book, the two got up.

"I really should be on my way," said Flaming Star, bowing his head.

"Thank you for spending time with me," replied Twilight.

Flaming Star was about to walk away when he decided to leave her with a little something that would bother her for quite a while. He turned, and winked roguishly at her before leaving. Immediately Twilight's eyes became dreamy.

"Uh, Twi? Are you okay?" said Spike as he waved a hand in front of her face.

Chuckling quietly, Flaming Star continued on past Town Square to find a place he could build a house. He soon found a perfect spot next to a particularity large cottage; however, just as he was drawing his powers in to build it, the door to the cottage next to the site opened and Sunset walked out. The two stood there for a second, staring at each other… then Sunset said, "You're not… building a house there are you?"

Flaming Star looked at Sunset, and then to the site, and then back to Sunset again. "Well… yeah? No?"

The two continued to stand there, staring blankly at each other. Fluttershy broke the silence as she trotted in to see what her husband was doing, standing stock-still on the doorstep.

"Sunset, what are you…? Oh! Hello Flaming Star!" she said with a shy smile and a quick wave. She continued, "Oh, are you building a house there? That would be wonderful! We could all be neighbors. Right Sunset?"

Sunset shook his head as if trying to clear it. "What? Yeah, oh… I… oh, well… o-okay."

Flaming Star, who had quickly recovered, gave Sunset a cynical eyebrow-raise before nodding towards Fluttershy and turning to the site. Raising his front hoofs, he began to pour power into the surrounding area. Soon, a quaint little cottage began to take shape as raw materials were drawn and shaped from the ground. In several minutes, a little cottage stood where none had been previously.

Sunset snorted, "Well… hello neighbor. I-I really have to get going… some important things to be done… eh, somewhere…"

Quickly, Sunset grabbed Fluttershy's hoof and trotted briskly off.

"Oh, me too? Okay… bye Flaming Star!"

Flaming Star snorted as the two figures disappeared around a corner. He turned to survey his house, and a wave of nostalgia swept over him. He had had a house before… sometime… somewhere. Flaming Star shook his head to clear his thoughts as he immediately began to think over his situation. He had to face the fact… the entire multiverse was a whole freaking mess. Literally. Mercenaries and assassins were crawling over every popular dimension, and the demon raids had become more and more frequent, soon the era of anarchy would end in flames and death. Flaming Star sat on his doorstep as he looked at the sky, peering at the clouds. Suddenly, Pinkie Pie jumped excitedly in front of him from nowhere.

"Hey! A new pony! IknowthatbecauseIknoweveryponyinponyvilleandsinceIdon'tknowyouthatmustmeanyou'renew! Hello! I'm Pinkie Pie! Who are you?"

Flaming Star simply looked at her with an amused expression. After a long pause, he said, "I am Flaming Star, Pinkie Pie, pleased to meet you."

Pinkie Pie began to increase the height and speed of her jumps. "You said HI! That must mean you're my new friend! You know what? We need a party to CELEBRATE!"

Flaming Star, who was still looking amused, shrugged. "Sure, in fact, go ahead and have it in my house. Knock yourself out… literally."

Pinkie ignored the jab as she said, "Party! Sugar Cube corner! Sundown! Don't be late‼!"

Flaming Star looked at the receding Pinkie as he murmured to himself, "Should I go? Meh… sure."

Almost the second Pinkie rounded a corner, Rainbow Dash rocketed out of the sky and landed at Flaming Star's feet.

"What's up?" she exclaimed, "Twilight said there was a new pony in town! I'm Rainbow Dash, fastest flier in all of Equestria!"

Flaming Star simply laughed, "Oh! That explains the attitude. Well, I am the firstborn, Flaming Star. Pleased to meet you."

Rainbow furrowed her brow, and said slowly, "Waaaiiiittt… are you making fun of me?"

Flaming Star gave a snort, "Does it look like I'm making fun of you? Never mind."

Rainbow continued to frown at Flaming Star, who got up and began to walk away. Eventually, Rainbow caught up and hovered beside him, "You're an alicorn! You have wings! Do you want to race?"

Flaming Star shook his head and replied, without even looking up, "No. Falling for stupid challenges is really more of in Sunset's category. I prefer to let my actions, when they are actually needed, to speak for themselves."

Once again, Rainbow frowned. This pony was extremely confusing. "Oookaaayyy… Do you want to meet the rest of my friends?"

Flaming Star sighed, "You have more than Twilight Sparkle and Sunset's wife?"

Rainbow nodded vigorously, "Yeah! There's Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rarity… They're my best friends. Six in all, really. We're the Harmony bearers."

A memory long buried in the vast libraries of his mind was pulled forth in Flaming Star's brain at the mention of Harmony. He glanced at Rainbow and said, "Harmony bearers? Are you six some form of extension of the tree of Harmony?"

Rainbow's jaw dropped. After a pause, she said, "Y-y-yeah! How did you know?"

Flaming Star turned his head back to look at the path ahead of him. As he did so, he replied, "Eh, it was a long time ago. It was about a hundred years after I became a dimensional traveler. There were three of us, and the Paradox. He discussed with us an idea to isolate three different dimensions, and imbue them each separately with the gifts of harmony: a tree, a book, and a crystal. We went out and searched for a dimension worthy of the gifts. Eventually, another hundred years later, we all returned from our searches. Dathan Enosson came back the happiest though. He literally raved about it for a decade. Something about ponies, and magic, and stuff. That place got the tree of harmony. When you mentioned harmony, I put two-and-two together. Hmmm, so this place is imbued with the power of harmony then? I suppose you guys don't get demon raids all too often then."

Rainbow, who for once was listening with total interest, replied, "Nope. That Abbadon freak was the first demon to set foot in Equestria, according to princess Celestia."

Flaming Star, at the name of royalty, looked at Rainbow once more, "A princess? Does that mean there is a king or queen ruling over this land?"

Rainbow shook he head, "Nope. Just princesses. There is princess Celestia, princess Luna, princess Cadence, and princess Twilight."

Flaming Star almost stared at Rainbow incredulously as he said, "Just… princesses… Well, okay. I can understand that."

At that moment, Twilight ran up to them.

"Hey Flaming Star! I wanted to let you know that I sent a letter to princess Celestia telling her about your arrival, and she replied! She wants to meet you and she's coming here with her sister princess Luna to see you!"

Flaming Star raised his eyebrows and said, "Well… okay… I suppose I really don't have a say in the matter."

Flaming Star turned around and began to walk away, as he moved, he heard Twilight shout from behind him.

"Wait for me!" she yelled as she galloped towards him. Flaming Star begrudgingly slowed his pace as he let Twilight catch up. "Why do you act like this?" she said, out of breath.

Flaming Star sighed, "I- I don't really know. I guess it's part of who I am!"

Twilight shook her head, "Nopony is born rude. You have to be taught that, and have it grafted into their personality."

Flaming Star and Twilight had made it to a small park on the outskirts of Ponyville. Sizing up a tree, Flaming Star sat under it. Soon, Twilight joined him.

Flaming Star took a deep breath as he looked at Twilight intensely. She immediately began to blush.

"I suppose… I could tell you a little of my past," he said slowly. Twilights eyes brightened up at the prospect of a story.

Leaning against the tree, Flaming Star, the firstborn, took a deep breath and closed his eyes as he recalled thousands of years of memories.

* * *

_Dimension: My Little Pony_

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Ponyville Outskirts_

_Time: 2 years after the arrival of Sunset Shadow_

Meanwhile Sunset and Fluttershy were settling down under a tree near the border of Ponyville to watch the birds fly through the sky.

As the lay down, side-by-side, Fluttershy said, "Sunset? Why don't you like Flaming Star?"

Sunset sighed deeply and said, "Last time we met… well… I kind of broke the planet he was trying to protect. He wounded me badly, but I almost made him fail his mission."

"Oh," said Fluttershy quietly, gently nuzzling Sunset's cheek, "that's sounds terrible."

Sunset closed his eyes and said, "It's not just that, the firstborn is a very arrogant man, er, pony. He does not let it show when he's on missions, and when people count on him, but in general he is. During my second year as a dimensional traveler, I actually did a few missions as his sidekick. He is NOT a nice person to work with. He is extremely skilled, don't get me wrong, but he does not really understand what it means to 'take one for the team.' And what's even worse, he is convinced he's never wrong… ever. I knew that something bad would happen, and when it did, he wouldn't handle it very well."

Fluttershy, too, closed her eyes as she continued to nuzzle Sunset. "He doesn't seem like a mean pony so far," she murmured, "I think you are judging him a little too harshly."

Sunset nodded lazily and replied, "I suppose I am. I guess time will tell. The years I have spent here have changed me from a murdering maniac to who I am now. Perhaps time here will also change Flaming Star from someone who just cares about his win-streak... to someone… different."

With that, the two fell asleep as the sun played shadows across their peaceful forms. Fluttershy's sleep was dreamless; her contentedness of being with the one she loved was enough. Sunset's sleep, however, did contain dreams, but unlike the dark nightmares that had plagued his existence since the first betrayal eight years ago, these dreams were full of the wonderful times of the past two years.

* * *

**Note: Hey everypony! If you've read this far, it means you probably are in some way interested in this story. If you have a moment, please let me know what you think of it! Thanks!**


	13. Chapter 13 - Recollections (Part 1)

**Note: Per request, I am recounting a little bit of Fluttershy and Sunset's marriage as well as a tiny piece of the history of Flaming Star. I thought this would fit perfectly into the story, though it does go off on a little bit of a tangent. Enjoy! If not, then skip ahead a couple of chapters when they pop up, you are not missing anything incredibly important**

* * *

_Dimension: My Little Pony_

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Sunset's House_

_Time: A little bit over a month after the arrival of Sunset Shadow_

Sunset opened his eyes to the door to his house being pounded heartily. Groaning, he rolled out of bed, rubbed the sleep from his eyes, and hobbled over to the door. He opened it to find Rarity and Pinkie Pie standing outside with huge grins on their faces. He looked from one, to another, and then groaned, "If this is about my upcoming wedding then you can-"

Rarity bustled inside as she said, "There is no time for talk, we must get your measurements! I have scheduled an appointment with Fluttershy exactly at noon, so we must not waste precious time! Do you have the guest list? How about the location? I suppose you should hold that off for now until I have assembled my sub-list of possible ideas for the décor. Oooh! So little time!" As she prattled off, she had been taking Sunset's measurements with incredible speed. While this was all going on, Pinkie Pie had been bouncing around.

"Hey Sunset! We need to find the perfect time for the WEDDING PARTY! Ooooh! We should the party at sunset! Get it Sunset? Sunset!"

Sunset simply rolled his eyes as he tried to sidle away from Rarity, but there was no escaping her. "Stay still you troublesome pony!" she scolded, "I need to get the measurement absolutely perfect! Do you have an officiant yet? Oh! Would you prefer the wedding to have a more formal, or a more natural feel? Stay still I say!"

Sunset gave a snort as he stood stock-still to let Rarity finish her measurements. "Look, Rarity," he said grumpily, "I appreciate all of this, but you never really consulted me…"

"Pish-tosh!" replied Rarity, completely misinterpreting Sunset, "You can thank me later! I think I have what I need. Natural or Formal?"

Sunset sat down with his head in his hoofs, "Give me a day! I need to consult with Fluttershy!"

Rarity stood there for a moment, then she blushed and said, "Oh yes! Heh, I forgot about that! Well, I have what I need for now! Go and discuss the necessary details with Fluttershy! I'll be back!"

There was a long pause after Rarity left with her levitating sketch books, pencils, measuring tape, and color schemes all around her, but after the moment passed, Sunset turned to look at Pinkie Pie. "I don't suppose you need to take my measurements too?" he said with a snort.

Pinkie gave him a grin and a huge hug. As she bounced out of the door, she called over her shoulder, "Nope! I just needed to give you a Pinkie hug! Everyone needs one! Bye!"

Sunset rolled his eyes as he tried to recover after the extremely flustering moment had passed. Then he got up and cantered quickly to Fluttershy's cottage. He trotted it to see Fluttershy standing stock still with a flustered expression on her face.

Sunset grinned. "Rarity was here?"

Fluttershy nodded slowly. "Y-yes. I never knew there were so many things about this. What's an officiant?"

Sunset trotted up and kissed her on the forehead. "I have not the slightest idea. But honestly, do you really want this all?"

Fluttershy sat down and looked at her hoofs. "I- I don't know. I want my friends to be there, but I'm afraid they might have lost sight about what it's all about!"

Sunset laughed, "I'm sure it's only Rarity so far."

At that moment, several knocks rang out. Sunset looked at Angel. "Hey, Angel, see who it is. If it's Rarity, tell her that we eloped and then get a photograph of her face. If it's anypony else, let them in."

Angel saluted and hopped to the door, soon he returned with Rainbow and Applejack.

"Howdy! How y'all doing?" Said Applejack.

"We're fine, thank you, just spending time together" replied Fluttershy, who rested her head on Sunset's shoulder.

Rainbow just pulled a face. "Ew… Hey! Sunset! Can I preform a double Rainboom at your… wedding?"

Sunset shrugged, "I don't know. We haven't hammered out the details yet."

Applejack suddenly brightened up. "No details yet?" she asked, "Does that mean we can help?"

"Wwwweeeelllll…" said Fluttershy and Sunset in unison. Applejack just ignored them.

"Woo-ee! I'd love to help! We can have apple cider, apple cake, apple strudel, apple crumble, apple…"

Rainbow Dash too began to rail off ideas, "Oh! I know! We can race for your honor! That would be a good idea! Or perhaps you can create a cutie mark talent enhancing potion so I can create a double rainboom! THAT would be awesome! How about-"

Sunset felt like yelling above the din, but Angel handled it. He walked up to Applejack and kicked her in the shin. He then threw a bowl of salad at Rainbow Dash's head.

"Angel!" exclaimed Fluttershy, "mind your manners!"

Sunset, however, winked at Angel and said, "Sorry about that, but you two really have to control yourselves. We haven't decided anything yet, nor will we for a day or two. We have to think about what really matters to us."

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah," she snorted, "all the mushy stuff. I'm outta here, but if you need a rainboom and my awesomeness, you know where to find me!" With that she zoomed off.

Applejack grinned ruefully. "Sorry y'all," she said, rubbing the back of her mane, "I sorta got carried away. I'll be off now, let me know if you two ever need anything."

As the door closed, Sunset sighed and he fell over backwards. Looking at the ceiling, he said, "Wow… just… wow."

Fluttershy lay down next to him and said, "I understand they're excited, but hopefully they will calm down soon."

Sunset nodded in agreement. After a pause, Sunset turned to look into Fluttershy's eyes. "What REALLY matters to us?"

Fluttershy snuggled in closed to him as she replied, "Being together. That's all that really matters."

"I agree. But how do we present that in a wedding? How many ponies should we invite?"

Fluttershy sighed, "I was never good in gatherings, I don't think I could handle the attention."

Sunset smiled, "I understand, but remember, when we get up on stage, it's just you, me, and the rings. But if it really matters to you, it can be a private wedding."

Fluttershy nodded her head, "Oh yes, I'd like that. Just our friends, no one else."

"So that's decided. But do we want it formal? We could ask Rarity to design nature-oriented garbs if you wish."

Fluttershy smiled dreamily. "Nature… Whatever you want, Sunset."

Sunset realized Fluttershy was falling asleep in the summer heat, and decided that it would be a good time to nap anyway. "We can decide on it later, nap first… plans later."

Sunset suddenly realized he too had fallen asleep when he heard voices. "Awww… they look so cute together!"

"Sssshhh! You don't want to wake them up, Sweetie Bell!"

Sunset groaned and opened one eye to see the Cutie Mark Crusaders standing over them.

"Good day, crusaders… or is it good night? What can I do for you girls?"

Sweetie Bell trotted over and sat next to Sunset's head and whispered, "Is Fluttershy still asleep?"

Sunset glanced towards the sleeping Pegasus and looked back at Sweetie Bell. "Yep," he whispered back, "But I'm awake now. Let's take this outside."

Sunset got up and walked outside with the Cutie Mark Crusaders trailing right behind him.

"So, what can I do for you three?"

Apple Blossom gave him a huge smile and said, "We're here to congratulate you!"

Sunset patted her head. "Thanks, is there anything else?"

Scootaloo buzzed her tiny wings and said, "Nope. We just wanted to say hello! We haven't seen you in a while after that scary guy Abbadon attacked."

Sunset shivered at the mention of Abbadon's name, at that very moment Fluttershy trotted out, rubbing her eyes sleepily.

"Hello girls," she said as she sat down next to Sunset, "how are you all doing?"

"We're just fine thanks!" replied Apple Bloom, "we were just here to say hello to Sunset!"  
Fluttershy smiled, and then she suddenly said, "Girls, would you like to be my flower girls for the wedding?"

At first the Cutie Mark Crusaders look surprised, but after a pause, Scootaloo buzzed her wings faster than before and said, "Would we ever?!"

Sweetie Bell clapped her hoofs together excitedly, "That would be wonderful! When is the wedding?"

Fluttershy put her head to one side as she thought, so Sunset answered for her. "We're in between dates as of yet," he said, "but we would certainly love you three to be with us during the wedding."

"This is great!" exclaimed Scootaloo, "maybe we could get our cutie marks… in… flower throwing? Um…"

Apple Bloom laughed, "Oh silly, it might not just be flower throwing."

Fluttershy gave the three a smile as the Cutie Mark Crusaders began to move away, arguing and laughing. She then turned to Sunset, "Have you gotten any ideas about the wedding?"

Sunset sighed as he shook his head. "Nothing," he replied, "This event is so special… I just cannot think of anything doing justice."

Fluttershy nodded her head, "Perhaps we could go to Twilight, she has books on all sorts of things like this."

Sunset laughed, "I don't think copying a procedure outlined by a book would do it justice either. But that does give me an idea, perhaps princess Celestia, who is way older than any of us, might have an idea."

Fluttershy looked Sunset in bemusement. "But princess Celestia lives in Canterlot, how are we to get there in such short notice?"

Sunset extended one of his hoofs as he said, "Take my hoof, I believe I can simply use my powers to teleport us there in an instant."

Hesitantly, Fluttershy backed away, "Oh… I- I think I'll stay here. Teleportation sounds… scary."

Earnestly, Sunset proffered his hoof again and said, "Don't you trust me?"

Slowly, Fluttershy reached out and took Sunset's hoof and smiled shyly as she said, "I do trust you."

With that, Sunset teleported to Canterlot. Fluttershy gave a small start when the scenery around them blurred and melted into the scenery of the Canterlot gardens, but that was about it.

Sunset planted a kiss of Fluttershy's cheek as he said, "There. That wasn't so bad, was it?"

Fluttershy nodded her head. "Not… not really I guess…"

Almost immediately Discord appeared in front of them with a flash.

"My, my! If it isn't my two favorite star-crossed lovers! Have I ever told you two how CUTE you look together? Aw, you're blushing Sunset!"

Sunset at first thought of replying sharply, but then chose a different tactic. He looked up at Discord and said, "Thank you for saving my rump when I was battling Abbadon."

Discord, surprised by that response, dropped his teasing tone and bowed deeply. "Why thank you, it was the least I could do for a fellow traveler. But those days are behind me now! That portal business and desolate planet were too… too uncomfortable for my elegant taste. I appreciate your compliment immensely, Sunset, but I perceive you have something else more important to do here than pay me compliments… I presume?"

Fluttershy nodded her head, "Oh, yes, we want to talk about our wedding with princess Celestia."

Discord raised an eyebrow, "A wedding? How delightful? Was I invited?"

Sunset winked at him and replied, "Only if you promise not to wreak havoc on the assembly, no matter how small it is? Pinkie promise?"

Discord looked as if he was at war with himself for a moment before sighing and saying, "Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye… There! You satisfied?"

Fluttershy gave him a smile and replied for Sunset, "Yes… we are. We really must get going now."

Sunset and Fluttershy trotted past Discord and entered the castle, as Sunset had presumed, Celestia sat upon her royal throne. She immediately got up and cantered up to Fluttershy and Sunset as they approached. "Welcome my little ponies! I was not excepting such a surprise!"

Sunset and Fluttershy bowed before Sunset replied, "We were here to ask you a few things. Perhaps you have a moment to spare?"

Celestia nodded her head vigorously, "I always have time for my friends."

Sunset nodded to Fluttershy, who said, "We were wondering if you had any suggestions you could offer about our wedding, and if you would like to attend."

Celestia smiled, almost dreamily, and said, "Ah, a wedding… you understand the commitment such an event implies, correct?"

Sunset nodded slowly, "It is about the union between me and Fluttershy, right?"

Celestia smiled and nodded, "It is. And that is what the celebration is about… it is about you and Fluttershy. Do not let anything take away from that."

Sunset nodded, and then said, "I understand now. Thank you princess Celestia, we will let you know when the wedding is."

Sunset then took Fluttershy's hoof and teleported straight out of the castle and into Sunset's house.

Fluttershy put her head to one side and said, "What should we do?"

Sunset smiled, "We will let our friends do what they do best, but we will make sure that this wedding is about what it is… a marriage. We will let it celebrate us having each other, and our friends, that is what love is all about, right?"

Fluttershy smiled at Sunset, "Right."

The two kissed.

* * *

_Dimension: Earth Prime_

_Planet: Earth_

_Specific Location: The small southern desert_

_Time: 7820 B.C._

Abimael Sethson looked up wearily from his plow as the hot sunlight beat down on the back of his neck. Off in the distance, his father Seth sat under a withered tree, resting his old bones.

"There has to be more to this!" groaned Abimael as he continued to work the hot and cracked soil, "I cannot live my life like this."

"Don't stop, little brother," called Abimael's brother Enos, "the soil won't till itself."

Abimael just groaned and continued working, as he worked, he grumbled, "I am a scientist, a thinker, a warrior! I shouldn't be doing these things."

Enos overheard and just laughed heartily, slapping Abimael hard on the back. "Little brother," he said, "just because you stare at the stars all night and think about what makes a body tick doesn't make you a thinker. And you are hardly a fighter, I could take you on any day, you aren't very much. Now get back to work."

Abimael sighed and resigned himself to his duties, but he disliked it quite a bit. How could he spend the rest of his doing things like this? Why were they even here? The planet was literally covered in lush rainforest, but his father Seth insisted on them working the soil here. What was the point? Abimael shook his head as he answered his own question: because they were supposed to. This land needed to be farmed for food, and what they didn't farm, they couldn't eat. Perhaps the forests of the world held food, and perhaps they could share in the bounties, but this land would never change, and Seth wanted to "make the difference," as he said.

"That's enough, my sons," called out Seth from the tree as he staggered to his feet, "let us get water from the river to quench the dry earth. Abimael, you will go first."

Abimael groaned again and put down the plow. He hated watering the earth, it always seemed thirsty. Suddenly, an idea came to his head… why couldn't they just dig trenches to certain locations? In his spare time, when he wasn't practicing fighting or stare gazing, Abimael worked on contraptions with wood and vines, recently, he had invented some form of pulley system that could open or close a door. If he could rig it with the trenches, he could control the water supply! He would call it… an irrigation system! Abimael was about to yell out his brilliant idea when a flash of light from the corner of his eye caught his attention. In the distance, in the great eastern jungle, a light flashed.

"Curious…" murmured Abimael, and putting down the plow, he dashed over to the forest. Running hard, he made it to the forest in less than a minute, but the flash seemed no closer. Suddenly, the flashing stopped, and Abimael looked around in disappointment. With a sad sigh, Abimael turned to return to his duties.

"Abimael," said a voice behind him. Whirling, Abimael's eyes were met with a wondrous sight. A massive being, swathed in light, was standing before him.

Shading his eyes and falling to his knees, Abimael whispered, "What… what are you?"

"I am the Paradox… do not fear me."

"What do you want… Paradox?" said Abimael.

"I have a proposition for you."

Abimael put his head to one side and said, "A… proposition?"

"For eternity I have contemplated the cancer that is demons that have eaten away at our fare multiverse, for eternity I have plotted out solutions… you are the solution."

Abimael suddenly knew what was going on, but still said, "What do you mean?"

"I am going to give you power, Abimael… such power that has never been seen by mortals of this earth before or after. You will take this power and you will rise… rise to confront the demons that poison the multiverse. Will you go with me?"

Abimael thought about his family and his life… and then realized this was what he had alway wanted to do. He had never been considered highly in his family, always overshadowed by his brother and a sense of inadequacy… but this was a chance to prove to what few humans existed on this world that he had what it took to be a hero.

"I will accept… but on what terms?" Abimael said after thought.

"You will not seek vengeance against you bullying brother, nor fame amongst your peers. You are here to defend and protect. When you are taken in, you will not be remembered by your family and relatives; you will be but a shadow of this planet's timeline…. A silent defender of all mankind."

Abimael nodded slowly. It pained him to never be recognized by his brother as a true power within the family, but… but perhaps this could mean something for him to come.

"A word of warning, Abimael: I will be watching. You have been given an honor, but you must not let it become you… you are but a subject, and you must perform as I say. Your powers will be untold of, as long as you can deliver."

After a deep breath, Abimael spoke: "I accept. I am ready."


	14. Chapter 14 - Recollections (Part 2)

_Dimension: My Little Pony_

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Sunset's and Fluttershy's House_

_Time: Three months before the arrival of Flaming Star_

Sunset opened his eyes and yawned. Blearily, he smacked his lips and looked around. The house was quiet, and Fluttershy was sleeping soundly next to him. Getting out of bed, Sunset trotted to the bathroom and took a quick shower. After that, he went outside to see the sunrise, like he did almost every day for the last few months. As it rose, Sunset cycled through his myriad of powers, as he did so, he smiled as he felt his connection with the world strengthen. Afterwards, he went about feeding the chickens and some other animals to save Fluttershy a bit of trouble. The sun had climbed halfway through the sky when Sunset had finished, but yet Fluttershy had not yet gotten up.

"Sleepyhead," chuckled Sunset as he went back inside and approached the bed where Fluttershy was still sleeping. He reached out a hoof and shook Fluttershy gently, as he did so, he whispered, "Hey… Fluttershy… it's time to wake up!"

Fluttershy opened one eye and mumbled, "Oh my… I don't feel too well."

Immediately Sunset frowned and he brought his face close to hers. He then pressed a cheek to her forehead for a moment and then said, "You do feel a little feverish. Maybe you should see a doctor."

Fluttershy shook her head, "Oh no… I'll be fine! Just give me a moment to recover…"

Sunset just looked at her. "You have a fever… Let's go to the doctors."

Fluttershy continued to shake her head, "I'll be fine, honest! I just need rest."

Sunset snorted, "Oh… you're scared of the Doctor's."

Fluttershy closed her head and mumbled, "Yes."

Sunset smiled and he got onto the bed and settled next to Fluttershy. "I understand that that could be a little worrying, but this is something I don't think I could help you with. This is more about a battle within you than outside wounds. I really think you should go see a doctor."

Fluttershy shook her head and mumbled, "But what about the animals? Who will take care of them? What if something is wrong and I have to go to the hospital? What will they do?"

Sunset laughed, "Oh, silly! I'll take care of them, or I'll, if I need to constantly beside your side which is far more likely, then I'll get Twilight or somepony else to take care of them."

Fluttershy opened an eye and looked at Sunset, "Are… are you sure?"

Sunset nodded, "I am sure. Let's go!"

Fluttershy, in a last attempt to escape her predicament, then quickly said, "I don't think I can get up." This was technically half-true.

Sunset nodded, "Of course! You shouldn't get up! You need to rest!"

Hopefully, Fluttershy smiled and said, "Does that mean I get to stay here?"

Sunset grinned, "Nope. This means I'm levitating you to the doctor's office."

Fluttershy covered her head with the covers as she whimpered, "But then everyone will see me! It will be so embarrassing."

Sunset continued grinning, "I'll cloak you. Look Fluttershy, I care about you deeply, and I really think taking you to the doctor is the best course of action, so this is what I'm going to do: I am going to levitate this bead and cloak it from people's vision, and then I will take you to the doctor's office. The doctor will take a look at you, make a diagnosis, and then we will be all fine. No trouble at all!"

Fluttershy mumbled something that sounded like a half-hearted protest, but then said, after a pause, "A-Alright."

Sunset kissed the covers that covered Fluttershy's head and said, "Wonderful! Let's goooo!"

He turned and used his powers to teleport him, Fluttershy, and the bed outside. Then he used his magic to levitate and cloak the bed. He then began to trot into town, keeping the bed floating well above everypony's heads. Every now and then, Sunset heard Fluttershy say, "Oh my…" and it was obvious she enjoyed the ride. Sunset just grinned.

"Hey Sunset!" exclaimed Twilight as he passed the Library, "How are you? Where's Fluttershy?"

"Greetings Twilight!" replied Sunset, "I am just fine, thank you. Fluttershy is feeling a little under the weather. I should get going now-"

"Hello everypony!" exclaimed Pinkie Pie as she bounced into view, "How are my bestest friends doing?"

Sunset sighed and said, "I am doing fine, thank you Pinkie Pie, I really should get going-"

Rainbow Dash then zoomed in as Sunset began to sidle away.

"Hey Sunset! Remember how we raced last month and we tied? We need to do it again, to… you know… break it!"

"NO Rainbow!" exclaimed Sunset, "they only thing we will manage to break is the town again. Guys, I am really in a hurry."

Rainbow zoomed down low in an attempt to neatly land in front of Sunset to keep him from leaving… she ended up colliding with the invisible bed and falling to the ground.

There was a long pause as everyone looked at Rainbow.

"What… just happened?" asked Rainbow rubbing her head.

Sunset rolled his eyes, "You had a stroke and you've been unconscious for the past seven years and none of us have even thought of considering moving you to a hospital."

Twilight narrowed her eyes, "I thought I saw… a ripple. Sunset? Are you hiding something?"

Sunset looked at her and said, "Wwwwwwweeeeellllllllllll…"

Suddenly, Fluttershy's voice rang out, "It's okay Sunset."

Sighing, Sunset uncloaked Fluttershy and the bed, hovering above his head.

"Oh dear," said Twilight, "Are you sick? Why were you hiding?"

Fluttershy sighed, "It's not that bad, really. Just a fever. Sunset wanted to take me to the doctor, but I didn't want to, so he went through all this trouble to make me comfortable."

Twilight brightened. "Oh! We're sorry Sunset. Do you want help carrying her to the Doctor's?"

Sunset shook his head and said, "No, I am fine. But I really should be getting on my way, despite this touching moment; I still have a sick wife that I need to transport."

Twilight nodded, and then said, "Okay! Could we come with you?"

Sunset looked to Fluttershy, who said slowly, "I guess you could come. Sunset will need the company."

Rainbow, who had recovered from her knock on the head, staggered up and took to the air again saying, "Eh… I'll tag along to. Today has been pretty boring already. How about you Pinkie?"

Pinkie bounced up and down and exclaimed, "Ooooh! Okay!"

Sunset snorted, "Why don't we invite the whole of Ponyville to come with us. I am sure we all are waiting with bated breath to discover the maladies of Fluttershy."

Twilight winked, "Actually, that might just be the case, but we understand. I suggest you cloak the bed again before ponies begin to wonder why there is a floating bed in town."

Sunset, Twilight, Rainbow, Pinkie, and Fluttershy continued to the doctor's office. As the arrived, Sunset deposited the bed and uncloaked Fluttershy, he then quickly got her an immediate appointment and sat in the waiting room as the doctor checked over Fluttershy to discover the reason for her sickness. As he sat, his three friends began questioning him.

"When are you going to race me again?" Asked Rainbow immediately. Sunset just looked at her pointedly.

"Stop it Rainbow! You've asked that too many times already. Tell me, Sunset, how is life going with Fluttershy?" Interjected Twilight.

Sunset sighed, "It's fine really. I couldn't have asked for a better wife. It is really calm and wonderful; however, I do wish there was a little excitement aside from caring for the animals and cycling through my powers aimlessly."

Pinkie immediately picked up on what Sunset was saying and exclaimed, "BORED? We can't have that! You know what you need? A PARTY!"

"That's your answer for everything, Pinkie," snorted Rainbow as she rolled her eyes, "I think, Sunset, that you need a little racing…"

Sunset shook his head, "Nope. No… racing… ever. I am not going to look like an idiot again by blasting half the town with a rainboom shockwave."

Rainbow looked cowed for a moment, then said, "But it was fffuuuunnnn!"

Sunset chuckled, "I suppose so. But you are not going to talk me into doing it again."

Pinkie, who obviously didn't really understand what was going on then said, "I can be talked into lots of things! But those things usually have to be about chocolate."

"Just wait, Sunset," said Twilight, "sit next to an insistent Rainbow for the next hour and she'll get you to do anything."

Sunset looked at Rainbow who was preforming her best rendition of 'puppy eyes' and then looked at Twilight. "Eh… I agree. I hope the doctor comes in soon."

As soon as those words dissolved into the air, the doctor came in. He smiled as he trotted in.

Sunset, Rainbow and Twilight stood up; Pinkie was too busy being distracted by something outside.

"What's the matter with her?" said Sunset anxiously.

"Well… You're wife, Mr. Sunset… She's pregnant. The sickness was just a side effect."

Sunset blinked. "My wife… is pregnant?"

Twilight the shouted gleefully, "THAT'S WONDERFUL!"

Rainbow just pulled a face; and Pinkie, who still wasn't sure what was going on, picked up on the energy in the room and started throwing streamers, exclaiming, "IT'S WONDERFUL! Wait… what's wonderful?"

At that moment, Fluttershy, who was hiding behind the door, slowly moved in, her face hidden by her mane. Sunset walked up and brushed her mane out of her face and smiled into it.

"Is it a filly or a colt?" he asked quietly.

"A filly," murmured Fluttershy, whose blushing was increasing exponentially with each second.

"As of now, I am the happiest pony in the entire dimension," said Sunset. Fluttershy and Sunset hugged and kissed.

* * *

_Dimension: The Light and the Dark_

_Planet: Calathial_

_Specific Location: The Riddled Valleys_

_Time: 700 years after the Great Light_

Abimael "James" Sethson stood side-by-side next to Joseph Torrus, age eleven, as they overlooked a camp chalk full of shadow warriors in the dark of night. Their mission: to destroy the monsters and their camps to ensure the dimension was safe from the Shadow King's tyranny. The problem: there were only about four of them and about a thousand shadow warriors versed in fighting and dark magic.

"So, let me get this straight," said Joseph as he looked down at the sea of tents, "You want me to stay up here and watch?" He had already been on three missions with James, and each time they had done anything, Joseph had just stood and watched.

"Look, kid," said James, not taking his eyes off the shadow sentries, "Martin is twenty-five, Daniel is forty, and I am about 1620 times older than you are… you're eleven. Unless my math is really screwed, there is a massive difference of age and skill between us four. My diagnosis: you stay here."

Joseph rolled his eyes, he had carried out successful attacks against a large number of enemy installments across the dimensions with a group of friends before he took up with James, and now he was reduced to watching aging dimensional travelers slug it all out in a fantastical style while he watched from the sidelines glumly. "When DO I get a chance to prove myself?" muttered Joseph, more to himself than anyone.

James overheard and raised his eyebrows and said, "When you have something to prove. Now stay here and don't touch anything. Martin? Front and center, thirty seconds till contact. I want their sentries out in less than a minute. Daniel, I want you with me. We're going to go to the opposite side to move in. Ten seconds men!"

James then nodded to Daniel and activated his teleportation powers. In seconds they were on the other side of the camp, directly behind an outcropping rock. Quietly James began to count to sixty. At fourth-five, Martin preformed a quick hand-signal from the rock he was hiding behind twelve feet away: the sentries were out and no one suspected anything yet. James let a smile play upon his face: Stage one was complete.

Signaling back at Daniel, James nonchalantly moved into the camp unopposed with Daniel on his six. Immediately James was able to identify the grand tent of the shadow warrior's commander-in-chief. Flicking his head, James signaled Daniel to watch for anyone who might happen outside as they approached the very door-step of the large tent. Daniel quickly turned his back to James and began scoping out the scenery. James, nodding quickly, quietly sized up the tent. His senses immediately alerted him of two guards standing over the sleeping chief. Conjuring twin bolts of dark matter, James strolled in and shot the guards in the throats before the called out. With their tracheas dissolved, all the guards could do were gasp and collapse dead on the ground. James walked up to the chief, conjure up a dagger, and stab the chief in the heart. Stage two was complete. Now for stage three: killing everyone else with a nuclear explosive. He pulled out the charge and prepared to put it down when an ear-rending shout sounded from outside... they had been spotted. Sighing deeply, James put the charge back into his pocket as he strolled outside to see shadow warriors running out of their tent to see two strangers, with weapons, standing outside their commander-in-chief's tent... that sight immediately branded them as enemies. With a roar, the soldiers charged Daniel and James, and with an explosion, James demolished a score of them running at him. That woke everyone else up, and soon the entire camp was descending on them.

Staying calm, James contacted Martin via his telepathic link, "Martin, our cover has been compromised. Get down here in thirty, time for plan B. We're in no way in trouble, but things are going to get a lot messier."

In seconds Martin joined them, and the three began slugging it out with hundreds of onrushing soldiers. As the three hit their seven-hundred kill, Joseph's voice called out from the link, "James! Trouble incoming! Contact with hostile reinforcements in twenty-six seconds!"

James snorted with frustration and replied, "Great, yeah, whatever. Don't come here kid, keep watching."

Suddenly Daniel let out a yell as a bolt of lacerating dark magic tore across his right shoulder. James turned and annihilated the score of mages running at them with a massive plume of fire. Once again, the camp flooded as eight thousand reinforcements arrived. James realized that this had gone from tolerable to bad, with worse oncoming quickly. He turned to Daniel, "It was a pleasure working with you Daniel, we're initiating plan C."

Daniel, his eyes squinted up in pain, looked sadly at James, but nodded. "For the greater good, eh?" he sighed as James tossed him the explosive pack.

James nodded back, "The greater good. We're not losing today."

James then signaled to Martin and they teleported away to where Joseph sat.

"What's going on?" asked Joseph, "Where's Daniel?"

"We're going to plan C," said James briskly.

"Plan C? I didn't know we had a plan C. What is it? Retreat and plan another type of attack later?"

James rolled his eyes, "No, I NEVER retreat and I NEVER lose. Daniel was wounded; I gave him the nuclear device so that he could set it off without raising the suspicion of grand mages."

Joseph's jaw dropped, "That's suicide! We can just as easily accept this as a defeat and try again!"

James looked at Joseph and replied, "No. I NEVER LOSE. This will work the best because we now have all three camps concentrated into one. Daniel is expendable, we're ALL expendable in the grand scheme of things."

Joseph looked into James's eyes and said slowly, "You are an idiot."

With that, Joseph teleported to the battlefield.

James glanced at Martin, who kept his face completely objective. He then looked at the raging fires down below. He then shrugged, "Meh, as long as this counts as a win."

He teleported back into the fight and was quickly followed by Martin. Hands blazing with energy blasts, James ran up to Daniel and said, "I guess no traveler deaths in this dimension today! We're going to my nonexistent plan D: kill everyone with Joseph as the main attraction."

Daniel nodded and tossed James the device, who put it away. Quickly the four formed a ring facing all directions as they unleashed waves of power. Fire, ice, dark matter, explosive energy, pure energy, and dark magic cut through the air like volleys of bullets as the battle progressed, but as the sun slowly rose on the decimated and burning camp, it was obvious the dimensional travelers had gotten the upper hand. And as the sun climbed fully above the hills, the last shadow warrior fell with a bolt of energy through its head.

The four stood there for a moment, exhausted, as the surveyed the carnage and desolation. James turned to Joseph and said, "Interesting call, kid. I'll think about trying that one in the future."

Joseph simply glared at James, but after a pause, he nodded. "Thank you, firstborn," he said, "but remember: it's about the team and the end results, not about the immediate victory."

James leaned in close until their noses were almost touching. James then whispered, "No, it's ALL about the immediate victory."

* * *

**Note: Okay! We've made it to the end of the two-part section of memories! Time to move back onto the present...**

**Extra Note: Oops, I had Daniel and Martin mixed up, no problem though, I fixed it now! Sorry for the inconvenience.**


	15. Chapter 15 - The Party

_Dimension: My Little Pony_

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: A park near the Ponyville borders_

_Time: 1004 years after the defeat of Nightmare Moon_

Twilight looked Flaming Star as he finished his tale. "So that's it?" she said, "A feeling of inadequacy? A need to win?"

Flaming Star stretched and tried his best to appear nonchalant as he replied, "I- I suppose so. A perfectionist by extension. I promised the Paradox I would be the best… And I… am… the… best."

Twilight looked at Flaming Star's face attempting to look determined, but saw through the ploy. "I understand what you're feeling. I too try to be a perfectionist, but it can be hard."

Flaming Star looked at Twilight again, was she just making these parallels up? Or did she truly understand what he went through. Slowly he said, "You… understand?"

Twilight smiled quietly and placed a hoof on his shoulder, "I understand. However, something princess Celestia taught me was that it is good to try to be a perfectionist, but you cannot let the perfectionist become you. You have other things to your life, and trying best may be important, but it cannot carry on to your interactions with other ponies."

Flaming Star nodded slowly, "I've spent so much time trying not to let the power become me that I let the perfection take control. Well… thanks… I guess."

Then after a pause, Twilight frowned and said, "But what you did was wrong."

Flaming Star closed his eyes and groaned as he said, "Yeah, yeah. I KNOW it was wrong and selfish and screwed up. But... but I couldn't stand people knowing that their example, their leader had failed on a stupid little mission with a group of fully-trained veterans."

Twilight sighed as well as she replied, "It can be difficult, but as Sunset said, it's not about the immediate victory! Friends matter more right?"

Flaming Star looked down at his hoofs and said, "I really don't have any friends," he confessed, "just followers. I never saw the use in friends thanks to the fact that I thought that some connection greater than teamwork would skew my judgment skills vital for planning out a victory."

Twilight looked somberly at Flaming Star as she said, "From the looks of it, your judgment skills were already askew. Victory shouldn't be the predominate factor in any situation; it is simply a sign that you delivered well. But a victory is not a victory over the dead bodies of friends. And even if you didn't have friends then... you have one now."

Flaming Star stared blankly ahead and there was an uncomfortable pause, soon Twilight began to rise, and Flaming Star, against his better judgment, blurted out: "Would you… come to lunch with me?"

Twilight, who had been wishing he would say that the second she had finished talking gave a huge bounce and exclaimed, "Yes please!"

Flaming Star eyed her scrupulously as he said, "Okay… Well, do you know any good places to eat?"

Twilight nodded vigorously, "There a special place I like to go to all the time in Ponyville. Follow me!"

Torn between a mild excitement and a bitter regret about the new situation he had gotten himself into, Flaming Star followed the obviously ecstatic Twilight slowly as she literally bounced through town square. As they moved, Twilight talked. "While we're eating, I can tell you about my adventures! And then maybe you could tell me about a few of yours! It will be really exciting! Ooooh! Maybe we could even write a book about it all! I could put it in a special place in the library for ponies to read! What should we call it? The adventures of Twilight and Flaming Star?"

Flaming Star simply groaned and put his head down, trying to be inconspicuous. He then noticed Sunset and Fluttershy standing and watching him from a distance. Fluttershy just smiled while she put a hoof about Sunset, and Sunset simply grinned and winked. Flaming Star averted his gaze as he followed the bouncing Twilight through the town.

"Oh dear," said Fluttershy as Flaming Star and Twilight passed out of view, "Flaming Star doesn't look at all happy."

Sunset nodded, "Yep. That will happen to a pony when he's grumpy, and boy is that pony grumpy. I just hope he will begin to understand what it means to get off his pedestal and understand to act and be nice like the rest of us."

Flaming Star heard every word Sunset had said, but he chose to ignore it, instead shaking his head and continuing to follow Twilight. Soon they arrived at the little restaurant on a corner a few blocks down from Sugar Cube corner. The waitress was most certainly surprised to see a regal-looking, yet extremely bothered, alicorn and a hyper-excited Twilight walk in.

"Oh, er… lunch for two?" Asker the waitress, a little bit flustered. Flaming Star nodded, he then turned to Twilight.

"Twilight," he said, "stop bouncing for one second and hand me an example of your people's currency, please."

Twilight gave him a bit, after a minute of looking it over carefully, he used his tremendous powers to duplicate a small bag of them. Twilight stopped talking for a moment to look at them. "Are you allowed to do that?" she said.

Flaming Star looked at the bag and said, "I am a traveler, I think I'm allowed to do it… at least once."

The waitress returned and seated them in a nice spot outside. The waitress then handed them their menus. Flaming Star looked over it with an amused expression. Ponies were vegetarians, so he wasn't surprised to see everything containing only green foods in one way or another.

Looking the menu over for a bit, he decided he would have the oat soup, while Twilight decided on the daisy sandwich. As the waitress took their orders and went off to prepare it, Twilight said, "So, Flaming Star, how do you like it here?"

Flaming Star looked about for a moment before saying, "It's okay. By far the most peaceful, of course, but I suppose I really have been too shaken up to let it all sink in."

Twilight nodded slowly as he talked, and then said, "What do you think of Sunset?"

Flaming Star snorted at the question, but then replied, "Eh, he's a good kid. I'm surprised he got married though. Last time we met, the only thing I was thinking was how wonderful it would be to kill him and leave his body strewn across the molten plains of the battlefield. But… but he's really different now, you guys have changed him in ways I cannot imagine! What's your secret?"

Twilight gave him a huge smile and said, "The magic of friendship."

Flaming Star blinked at her. After a pause, he said, "The magic… of friendship. That's it."

Twilight nodded vigorously, "Never underestimate it! It changed me as well! There is something in it that changes everypony!"

Flaming Star thought about it for a moment and then said, "I… suppose… I guess I really haven't had time to contemplate it really. I never had any friends, I never trusted myself or the other people, and, sadly, it paid off when most of the people who had tried getting close to me turned against each other. It wasn't pretty, and I saw it eat away at Sunset, turning him into a monster. But he seems to be really happy now!"

At this moment, the waitress brought out the food, and the two tucked in. After a bit, they returned to their conversation.

"Well, if Sunset can trust us, I am sure you can too!" exclaimed Twilight.

Flaming Star thought about it for a moment. "I… don't know," he said, "I will have to think about it."

"What's there to think about?" Persisted Twilight

"Twilight, you must understand, Sunset is young and gullible, the betrayals dug out his heart, but the wounds were fresh, and you and your friends love restored his soul before the cancer had dug too deep, but me… well… let's just say your perspective of literally EVERYTHING changes when you become my age." Said Flaming Star after a bit more though.

Twilight seemed to accept the answer, but immediately followed it up. "That's another thing! What is it like to be so old?!"

Flaming Star sighed, "I don't know… just… old. I was blessed with a timeless personality, so I never felt affected by the ages, but I consistently get bouts of déjà vu, nostalgia, and sometimes depression. Eternity is a long time, and it's starting to feel like I have the real deal."

Twilight quieted down after that somber response and the two ate in silence for a time. Finally, Twilight said, "Will you really live forever?"

Flaming Star tried to smile, but failed. "Eh… No. I have at least another dozen thousand years on me, but the world changes, and sometimes I want the multiverse to just stand still. I can no longer just enjoy the moment, for even a hundred years is nothing but a mere drop in the ocean of the lifetime of a dimensional traveler."

Twilight smiled sadly, she suddenly reached across and took Flaming Star's hoof in her own, and they remained in the position for a good thirty seconds. Blushing profusely, Twilight let go and looked down, then she said, "Did that moment just pass on by?"

Flaming Star stared at the hoof Twilight had been holding, for the first time in his life… he was speechless. After a pause, he said, "I- I really cannot say…"

For the rest of the lunch, the two ate without talking. Flaming Star paid for the food, and the two went on their own separate ways. He sat under a tree and watched as the sun crossed over zenith and traveled on to the full west. After a bit, Sunset passed by. He stopped when he saw Flaming Star and sat next to him.

"Greetings firstborn," said Sunset as he sat down next to him.

Flaming Star barely registered his presence for a second, then he mumbled, "Just call me Flaming Star, Sunset."

Sunset grinned and said, "I know that face. What kind of lunch did you have anyway?"

Flaming Star glared defensively at Sunset and snapped, "It was nothing big, we just ate lunch, no big deal."

Sunset continued grinning, "I'm a married pony, Flaming Star, I know how these things worth. For once, and I'm sure you will be forced to agree, I know more about this all than you do."

Flaming Star sighed resignedly and said, "Well… she did say some stuff that really held onto my brain. Something that rarely happens. I guess our conversation really gave me pause… amazing."

Sunset looked at the sun slowly setting and said, "Aren't you supposed to be somewhere?"

Flaming Star nodded, "I am. Pinkie Pie's party. You, er, you are invited if you wish to go."

Sunset chuckled, "It would be foolish of me to refuse a Pinkie invitation. Would you mind if I brought some friends over?"

Flaming Star shrugged, "From what I perceive of this Pinkie Pie… I am sure no one would mind."

With that, the two alicorns got up and went their separate ways. Flaming Star immediately traveled to Sugar Cube corner and knocked. The door flew open and Pinkie Pie's head popped out.

"There you are slow-poke! Let's go! We're about to play pin-the-tail-on-the-pony!"

Flaming Star just raised his eyebrows, but Pinkie grabbed his hoof and dragged him inside. The building was brightly lit, and colorful streamers were everywhere.

"Here we are! You're welcome-to-Ponyville party! Ooooh! Let's go meet my friend friend friends! You've already met my friend friend friends Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Sunset, and Fluttershy, but I have more friend friend friends that I want you to meet!"

With that, Pinkie dragged Flaming Star over to a small group of ponies at the food table.

"This is Rarity!" exclaimed Pinkie.

"Oh my," said Rarity as she saw Flaming Star, "I am delighted to meet you my dear sir. Are you a prince?"

Flaming Star laughed, "Well, I suppose you could say that. I am please to meet you as well, Rarity."

Pinkie then grabbed Flaming Star's hoof again and dragged him to the other end of the table.

"This is Applejack!"

"Howdy partner!" said Applejack, treating Flaming Star to a smile, "How ya' doin'?"

Flaming Star bowed and said, "I am doing fine, Applejack. It is a pleasure to meet you."

At this point, Sunset tapped Flaming Star's shoulder. Flaming Star turned around and said, "Oh, greetings Sunset."

Sunset nodded and said, "I want you to meet one of my closest groups of friends: the Cutie Mark Crusaders. They literally saved my life when I first came here to Ponyville."

Sweetie Bell trotted up and said, "Hi! I'm Sweetie Bell! Please to meet you!"

Then Scootaloo galloped in, with her wings buzzing in excitement as she said, "Yeah! And I'm Scootaloo!"

Finally Apple Bloom came up and said, "I'm Apple Bloom, pleased to meet you!"

Flaming Star bowed and said, "I am pleased to meet all three of you. I am glad to have met you all…"

His voice trailed off as he saw Twilight standing in a corner, talking with Rarity. He gave the CMC a quick smile and trotted off.

"Hey, er Twilight, I-I wanted to thank you for going to lunch with me," Flaming Star said as Rarity moved off to talk to Sweetie Bell.

Twilight blushed and responded, "Thank you. I'm really sorry if I seemed a little too straightforward though."

Flaming Star shook his head, "Oh no, it was fine, your actions really gave me pause, something I have not felt in a long, long time. And coming from someone such as myself, that means a lot."

Twilight looked over at Pinkie and said, "They're playing pin-the-tail-on-the-pony now, do you want to play?"

Flaming Star chuckled as he said, "No, I don't think so, it wouldn't really be fair."

Twilight laughed as Sunset tried his hoof at it and got it perfect in no time at all. "I guess you could say that, I suppose you guys do have a little bit of an advantage."

"No kidding," Chuckled Flaming Star. There was an uncomfortable pause, but after a whole minute (though it seemed like an hour) Flaming Star said, "I'm going to try the food before it's all gone. I will see you later Twilight. Take care of yourself."

Twilight looked disappointed at his going, but nodded and said, "Oh… okay."

Flaming Star gave out a huge sigh as soon as he was out of ear shot, but then decided to go ahead and try some of the food anyway. It was sweet, but it had no substance for Flaming Star, who had probably tasted every food ever in the eons of his existence. After a while of trying to "get into" the feel of the party, he went outside and sat down, looking at the moon rising above them.

"What am I doing here?" he muttered.

Suddenly, he was joined by Sunset, who had seen he leave. Sunset sat down next to him and said, "We're here to recuperate. I came here because my mind had shattered; you came here because your view of the multiverse was compromised. We're all here due to something life-changing, and we're in the right place. Give these ponies a chance, Flaming Star! They are the better than the best friends anypony could want."

Flaming Star shook his head. "I don't know. Unlike you, Sunset, I've never had any friends. Sure, I had people who were nice to me, but that was because their lives literally depended on my actions, and those who truly cared about me eventually learned to hate me due to who I am. Like you, Sunset. It… it really never turns out well."

Sunset thought about what Flaming Star had said for a moment, and then replied, "And what of Twilight? Do you consider her a friend?"

Flaming Star chuckled, almost derisively, "I have no idea. In all my years, I have not met a being quite like her. It's baffling really. I don't know, I just don't know."

Sunset sighed and he got up, "I'm going back inside, let me know if you want any food."

* * *

_Dimension: The Inferno_

_Planet: The Inferno_

_Specific Location: The Inferno_

_Time: Eternity_

The sound reverberated to every corner of the infernal real; the sound of the colossal monument that is Mount Azrael shattering into dust and debris. As the frozen shards finished slicing though the air, the dust cleared, and the rocks of ice and frozen stone finished falling from the sky, the only creature standing was Legion.

Legion took a deep, rumbling breath before taking a step… it shook the entire circle. Legion was massive, twenty feet tall, every square inch covered excessively in layers-upon-layers of powerful armor. Even his face was covered in a powerful masked helmet, with only a thin, red-glowing, T-visor slicing through the face-plate. Extending an armored hand, Legion conjured forth his massive sword, the demonic claymore, out of thin air. Looking at the hellish runes glowing on the side of the blade, Legion nodded his head slowly. He then lifted his left hand and snapped his finger once; a ripple spread through the air as a wordless message was sent: Legion had returned. Almost immediately, the demon Xaphan approached Legion, his head bowed low.

"Commander," he said in rasping tones, "You called for me?"

Legion ignored the trembling demon for a moment as he turned his armored head around slowly, smelling the air.

"The winds of time and space are talking to me," Legion said in a voice like thunder to no one in particular, "It is telling me that the traveler council has fallen and that most dimensions are ripe for the conquest… save three. These are protected by the harmony units, and they cannot be invaded properly by evil. You, underling, will take a score of you best demons and raid the harmony tree dimension first… it is the least protected. Leave no creature alive, we cannot have the harmony units interfering with the plans."

Xaphan nodded and said, "It will be done commander."

As Xaphan scurried off, Legion continued to look around. A soft hum of interest escaped the masked visor as Legion whispered the unintelligible word that Abbadon had said to the mountain two years ago. After that, Legion rumbled a little louder, "Ah… I understand. It is almost time."


	16. Chapter 16 - To Canterlot Again

_Dimension: My Little Pony_

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Flaming Star's house_

_Time: A day after the arrival of Flaming Star_

Flaming Star had been sitting on the door step to Sugar Cube corner for more than an hour, and soon ponies began to file out to go home for the night. First came Sunset and Fluttershy, holding hoofs. Fluttershy only stopped to smile at Flaming Star and say, "Goodnight, get yourself home soon!"

Soon the rest came out: Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack. Each said a word of farewell to Flaming Star as they went on home. Finally Twilight came out, however, instead of moving on, she sat next to Flaming Star for a moment.

"It's a beautiful night," sighed Twilight, "Don't you wish every night was like this?"

Flaming Star also sighed, and then said, "I don't really know. It's hard to say."

Twilight looked at Flaming Star, "Haven't you ever had a moment that you wished had never gone away?"

Flaming Star shook his head, "No, come to think about it… I suppose it all just melts into each other, like a sea of memories, all thrashing about for a place in my immediate thoughts."

Twilight looked at Flaming Star and said softly, "It must be tough."

Flaming Star smiled at Twilight and replied, "Not really. But it does make me hunger for something that will last longer. But nothing has been strong enough to hold its ground in my mind for long. Too many years and too many different memories I suppose… Well, I suppose I should get home."

Flaming Star got up and awkwardly patted Twilight on the shoulder; he then made his way home in state of depression as he realized how true his words were. How could he learn to live here? He had no experience whatsoever about anything he was dealing with, and all these new emotions were threatening to compromise him. With his head still pounding with troubled thoughts, Flaming Star cantered into his home, got into bed, and laid down. Sleep was long in coming, and when it did, the dreams were nothing but a jumble of confusing memory sequences from all over the eight thousand years of his life.

A knock on the door woke Flaming Star, who looked around in confusion as his faculties pulled together his present dimension, location, and time... He must have fallen asleep without knowing it. He then began to wonder who possible would want to see him. Getting up, he moved downstairs and opened the door, it was Spike.

Flaming Star blinked at the baby dragon before saying, "Er… hello?"

Spike smiled and handed Flaming Star a parchment, "Hey Flaming Star! I'm Spike! Twilight's personal assistant! We just received word that princess Celestia is on her way to meet you today!"

Flaming Star took the paper and scanned it. "Oh… okay. When is her estimated time of arrival?"

Spike shrugged, "An hour or so."

Spike was about to turn around and leave when Flaming Star quickly said, "This princess Celestia… Twilight said that as a princess, her lifespan would be ultimately longer than average ponies… does this mean this Celestia has such a lifespan? If so, how long has she lived?"

Spike scratched his head as he thought, "Eh… I'm not sure. I know that she does have a really long life, but I have no idea how old she is. Maybe five thousand years?"  
Flaming Star raised an eyebrow, but nodded his thanks and returned inside. He took a quick shower and sat down to look at the sky, something he had been doing increasingly more and more often over the past decade. Suddenly, Twilight rushed around the corner, spotted Flaming Star, and rushed over.

"She's here!" she exclaimed, grabbing Flaming Stars hoof, "Let's go!"

She dragged Flaming Star unceremoniously around the house to the front, just in time to see the chariot of Celestia make a touchdown. Flaming Star approached the chariot as Celestia stepped off. Flaming Star stopped in his tracks as he saw Celestia's face… something seemed familiar about it.

"Greetings, Flaming Star," said Celestia as she cantered up to where he stood, "Twilight has told me much about you?"

Flaming Star became a little flustered at the mention of Twilight talking about him, but he did not show it.

"Princess Twilight is a wonderful pony," he said calmly. After a moment of continually staring at her, he said, "My apologizes princess, but do you happen to know of a being named Regal Crescent?"

Celestia's mouth almost dropped open at the name, but after a pause she said, "Why…yes, I did. We were good friends when I was a filly. He sadly disappeared to a far off land, and I stopped receiving letters from him soon after that. I never saw him again."

Flaming Star nodded, "That was to be expected. His true name was Dathan Enosson, and he was a dimensional traveler like me and Sunset. I apologize for the tangent, but I was curious, when he came back to us, he would not stop talking about you and the other princess and the wonderful land you lived in."

Celestia smiled and said, "I appreciate it, I also worried about his whereabouts. Is he still with your… er, travelers?"

Flaming Star suddenly looked down and said slowly, "No. He turned away from the light. He is no longer one of us."

Celestia sighed and moved her head close to Flaming Star, "It seems that we have both then lost a good companion."

Flaming Star nodded, he then motioned to his house and said, "I would be honored if you would spare a moment to talk with me."

Celestia nodded and walked inside, signaling to the guards to stay on the porch. The two settled down at a table and began to have tea.

"Tell me," said Flaming Star asking the immediate question, "How old are you?"

Celestia smiled, though it was obvious she was a little taken aback by the question, "No pony has asked me that in a while. I am four thousand years old… I understand that it may be a long time for someone as young as you to understand the time my life has covered, but it is true."

Flaming Star chuckled as he took a sip of tea. "Princess Celestia," he said after a pause, "I am eight thousand years old."

Celestia almost choked on her tea as she looked at Flaming Star, "Is that possible?"

Flaming Star nodded, he then reached out and tapped her skull lightly, imparting a flurry of images confirming the ages he had lived through. Celestia looked at Flaming Star in wonder, and she herself found herself bowing her head low as she said, "Incredible…"

Flaming Star quickly raised he and said, "I do not have any being bow to me. It is not who I am. I may be ancient, but I am not a king, nor do I deserve the honor of being bowed to any longer."

Celestia looked at Flaming Star with interest in her eyes, "Any longer?"

Flaming Star sighed, he was loath to tell her of his issues, but the aura that radiated from Celestia had gotten to his old sensibilities and he felt like he could trust her. His piercing eyes blazed into her soul for a moment before he nodded and said, "I was the most powerful of the travelers, I always won my battles and I was an example to all. Unfortunately, I let the count of my victories, 2346127 in all, obscure my judgment. I felt like they had become more important than my team, and so I fell out from being a hero to a reckless fool. And it continued to build, until my iron-wrought belief in my own skills ended up with my team dead, and my first defeat on my hands."

Celestia looked at Flaming Star, who was glaring down at the table, and softly said, "I understand what you are going through…"

Flaming Star snorted and said, "Perhaps… but that isn't the worst of it. You know Sunset and how he is a traveler as well, right? Well, we're the only two good ones left. Every other one who believed in the truth has died."

Celestia gasped, "Sunset told me of what you travelers did for us all… does this mean that these demon creatures that you fought will begin to take over all?"

Flaming Star shrugged, "Who can tell? The tree of harmony of this universe protects it, and the commander-in-chief of the infernal armies, Legion, lies imprisoned in the frozen mountain of Azrael…"

Celestia looked at Flaming Star curiously, "The tree of harmony? How do you know of it?"

Flaming Star sighed, "Regal Crescent, long before he went wrong, was responsible for it being planted here. He loved this place, and everything in it."

There was a knock at the door, and Twilight poked her head through the door.

"Flaming Star? Oh! I didn't know you were in here too princess Celestia."

Celestia nodded and said, "I am here. If you will excuse us, dear Twilight, we were discussing some important matters."

Flaming Star on the other hand, got up quickly and said, "Oh! Twilight! Come in! I, er, WE would love your company."

Celestia gave Flaming Star a side-long glance, but then nodded to Twilight. At seeing Flaming Star so excited, Twilight gave a huge smile and trotted over to sit next to him. The three then began to have tea together.

"Flaming Star," said Celestia, "I want you to come with me the Canterlot for a time. Princess Luna was, er, shall we say, a little bit of head-over-hoofs in love with Regal Crescent. Hearing from you might make her understand what was been going on. She has gotten over his disappearance since her own banishment, but I don't think she has ever understood what happened."

Flaming Star nodded. However, Twilight's eyes fell a little, but Flaming Star noticed. After a massive internal struggle, Flaming Star sighed, almost loudly, and said, "I will go, but only if princess Twilight accompanies me. I have grown to enjoy her company, even if at times she can talk too much. I… well… I… I have much to learn from here."

At this, Twilight's eyes grew to twice their regular size and she grabbed Flaming Star and gave him a massive hug. "Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou!" She exclaimed.

Flaming Star grunted as he struggled for breath and gave Celestia a sheepish grin.

Celestia nodded as she stood up, "I would be happy if both you came. Do you have a particular date in mind to grace my court with your presence?"

Flaming Star, who was still trying to pry Twilight loose from his waist, said, "I would like to go now, if possible. I prefer to never leave loose ends untied for long if I can help it."

Celestia nodded, "I have an appointment to keep in Baltimare, but you two are welcome to go to Canterlot ahead of me. Enjoy yourselves, my little ponies."

Chuckling quietly, Celestia got up and go into the chariot. Spike came in and stared at Flaming Star and Twilight.

"Ah… Spike," said Flaming Star, "It appears that Twilight is no longer aware of her surroundings. I would appreciate it if you would help bring her to her senses before she strangles me to death. I would hate it to have it all end here."

Spike broke down laughing, "Oh boy, Twilight, not you too!"

The sound of Spike laughing immediately brought Twilight back to reality, and she began to blush. "Stop it Spike! I'm just really happy."

Spike wiped a tear from his eye as he struggled with his laughing, "S- sorry… It's just so funny!"

Flaming Star snorted, "Yes, we all know it was funny to watch. Spike, get ready, you, Twilight, and I are going to Canterlot. I have some unfinished business there, and I would appreciate it if you and Twilight went with me."

Spike, still struggling with his laughter nodded, "R- right away! Hehehehe…"

Flaming Star rolled his eyes and turned to Twilight. "Could you be ready in an hour? I could teleport us there, but per Sunset's request, I intend to experience the 'full pony experience.'"

Twilight, still blushing, said, "Oh! Um… of course!"

Scrambling up, Twilight grabbed Spike and dashed off. As Flaming Star watched her go, he groaned… This was probably a huge mistake. Slowly he got up and swayed in place as he struggled with his inner self as he contemplated what he should do. Should he change his mind? Impossible now. How could he deal with this? Suddenly, Flaming Star decided that it would be in his best interest to talk to Sunset.

Flaming Star understood what he had to do, but it was extremely embarrassing, and he still did not like Sunset too well. Grumbling every step of the way, Flaming Star begrudgingly knocked on door to Sunset and Fluttershy's house. Sunset opened the door and looked at Flaming Star. "Oh… can I help you?"

Flaming Star rolled his eyes and sighed, "Yeah… I am having 'Twilight' problems."

Sunset began a bout of coughing that probably hid his snickering. Flaming Star just looked at Sunset and said, "You know what? Screw you."

However, as he began to turn around, Sunset called out, "No! Wait! I'll help you."

Flaming Star looked at Sunset and said, "Okay… great… One more laugh from you though, and I'm turning around and leaving."

Sunset sat down and said, "Oh, Flaming Star, let go of your pride for a moment. And don't forget who you're talking to! I was the master of all those dark things before I saw the light again. What seems to be the problem?"

Flaming Star sighed again and said, "Well… Apparently the princess Luna had fallen in love with Dathan Enosson when he was here looking for a place to plant the harmony tree. We all know what's happened to Dathan, except for this dimension, of course. Celestia wants me to go to Luna, who I guess still thinks about Dathan's disappearance, and explain what has happened. Annoyingly enough, Twilight wanted to go with me, so I said she could go. I mean… what the hell is wrong with that pony? I'm the least likeable traveler ever! No one ever liked me!"

Sunset winked at Flaming Star and said, "And we all know why no one liked you, right? Eh, never mind. Anyway, I thought the same thing when Fluttershy saw good in me. It was really her who brought out my true self from all the scarred emotions and violent impulses. Perhaps spending time with someone who likes you for what you truly have in yourself will bring it out in you as well! My advice is hang in there and humor her, maybe she'll surprise you."

Flaming Star nodded, after another round of struggling with his better judgment, he said slowly, "Thank you Sunset. I appreciate it."

Sunset gave him a grin and said, "Any time. You might want to get ready, you have a long time ahead of you."

Flaming Star snorted as he got up and began to leave. As he exited the door, he said over his shoulder, "You don't have to tell me that, I figured out that part myself."

Sunset chuckled as he closed the door and went back to his work.

Flaming Star went directly to his home and packed a few things into a suitcase, exactly in an hour, as he had said, Twilight came knocking at the door.

"Let's go get some tickets!" she exclaimed, "The train should be leaving in half-an-hour!"

Flaming Star sighed resignedly and followed Twilight to the train station. As they went, they were intercepted by Rainbow Dash.

"Hey guys! Where are you two going?"

Twilight smiled, "Hey Rainbow! Flaming Star and I are off to Canterlot for a few days. Flaming Star has some important business there, and he invited me to come along with him! It will be fun!"

"If will be fun, eh?" said Rainbow, pulling a face. As Twilight skipped by, Flaming Star made eye contact with Rainbow and whispered, "Kill me."

Rainbow just grinned and winked.

In thirty minutes Spike, Twilight, and Flaming Star were on the train to Canterlot.

"So, what should we do first?" said Twilight, smiling at Flaming Star.

"I know, we should play the 'who can be the quietest' game." Replied Flaming Star.

Twilight, blinked, "What?"

Flaming Star smiled and said, "I think we should just rest for a bit, and enjoy the view."

The three sat together in silence until Spike said, "This is really boring."

Flaming Star looked down at Spike and said, "You haven't lived for thousands of years. Just enjoy the moment, in time everything will seem like a blur."

Spike snorted, "Yeah, yeah. We ALL know how old you are now. I don't think it should change anything!"

Flaming Star put his head to one side as he thought about it. "Well… yeah, I suppose so. You're right, really. Sadly, it gets more difficult to say that as time goes on. Believe me, I was telling myself that during my first thousand years, and I felt I was going strong, but everything mellowed out after the fifth… then the sixth… then the seventh…"

Twilight looked at Flaming Star with huge eyes, "Is it really like that?"

Flaming Star shrugged, "I suppose so. It kind of sucks. You can't imagine how I've just sat back and watched the multiverse go by, as I've said. Sometimes… sometimes I feel like everything is moving on without me."

Twilight placed a hoof gently on Flaming Star's shoulder, "It must be so strange, seeing everything like this."

Flaming Star smiled at her and said, "This dimension is something special, a mix of all the eras really. Perhaps Sunset has made a few innovations here and there, but this place, at its core, makes me feel a little at home. I mean, when I was your age, I was a farmer! There were literally only one hundred of us on that planet… all alone. And now I cannot go back, it's too foreign. But this place… well, this place, as I said, is something different."

Once again everypony lapsed into silence, but this silence was rich with meaning, and not bothering in the least. Twilight and Flaming Star sat side-by-side as they watched the countryside flash by. Spike, on the other hoof, just grumbled and muttered that he was going to the diner's car.

After the moment had passed, Twilight gave Flaming Star a side-long glance and said, "Would… would you like to hear about my past?"

Flaming Star at first wanted to continue drinking in the passing time, but after a bit of thought he nodded his head. Thus Twilight began to recount how she had come to Ponyville, how she had found the elements of harmony, how she had defeated Discord, and how she had become a princess…

* * *

**Note: Hey everypony! How are you all? Don't forget to write up reviews! I would enjoy the feedback!**


	17. Chapter 17 - Doubts

_Dimension: My Little Pony_

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Canterlot Train Station_

_Time: Two days after the arrival of Flaming Star_

Within several hours, the train arrived at Canterlot station, and Twilight, Spike, and Flaming Star got onto the platform.

"Let's go!" said Twilight, "Oh, and be ready to be swamped by pony reporters, Alicorn Stallions are really rare, and you will be something of a major attraction. Hopefully everything will go okay, though, Sunset nearly feinted when he first came here."

Flaming Star nodded his head slowly, "Thanks for the heads up."

Like when Sunset first arrived, ponies at first didn't really notice; but as Flaming Star continued on his way to the castle, more and more noticed the golden alicorn and began to follow him. Soon a procession was directly behind them as pony reporters began to move in to photograph him and ask him questions.

Flaming Star simply nodded his head towards the reporters, but didn't say anything. He simply walked on, ignoring everypony as he moved towards the castle. Soon they arrived at the gates, and the three strolled in with alacrity.

"Wow, you did really well!" said Twilight.

"Yeah, Sunset nearly blew a gasket during his time here," added Spike

Flaming Star grinned, "Thank you, you two." His grin vanished when he saw a bright, yet subtle, flash off down one of the hallways.

"Well, I suppose we should get settled in, see you soon!" called Twilight as she trotted down another hallway.

Eyes still glued to the spot where the flash had originated, Flaming Star called out, "Yeah! See you soon…"

He moved down the hallway to investigate… nothing. Suddenly, a voice called out, "Oh my, not ANOTHER alicorn!"

Flaming Star immediately looked up, a habit he had developed over the years. Above him was Discord. Flaming Star just grinned as his memories from long times passed were pulled up to identify the being before him.

"Well, if it isn't the chaotic traveler Discordius," said Flaming Star with a wink.

Discord was so surprised that he fell out of the air and landed on his back. He scrambled up and exclaimed, "My… my! The firstborn! What bring you here?"

Flaming Star eyed Discord up and down, "I had my suspicions that you were the Discord Twilight had told me about. How long have you been here now, two thousand years?"

Discord gave a deep, mock bow as he replied, "Yes, my dear Abimael. But I suppose you really already knew that. And that brings us back to my original question: what ARE you doing here, really?"

"I live here now," said Flaming Star simply.

Discord winced. "Ah…" he muttered, "I was afraid you were going to say that."

He then cleared his throat and said a little louder, "You are aware Joseph Torrus, or as we call him, Sunset Shadow, lives here as well, right?"

Flaming Star nodded, "Yes, in fact, I am now going by the name Flaming Star, though I still much prefer firstborn."

Discord rolled his eyes, "So many names. Well, why are you living here, exactly?"

Flaming Star's face filled with a depressed look for a moment as he replied, "Well… I lost a battle, and during the loss, the last good dimensional travelers were killed. It's all over, Sunset and I are it."

Discord looked somberly at Flaming Star as the realization of what was happening to precedence; however, after a pause, Discord tried to lighten the mood by saying, "I say, are you implying that I'm not a good traveler? I'll have you know that I saved Sunset when he was attacked by Abbadon!"

"Sunset told me about that a while ago," Flaming Star said, "But you said, when confronted by Abbadon, that you had given up the title of hero."

Discord pulled a face, "Oh yes, all these technicalities of titles and official monikers… Yuck. Perhaps that is true, perhaps it's not, but I understand your point, it seems the time of the travelers has rolled past its apex and tumbled down into a precipice of doom."

Flaming Star nodded glumly, "To put it eloquently, yes. I better get me room set up, but Discordious, keep your eyes open."

Discord gave a flourishing bow as he replied, "Of course, Flaming Star."

Flaming Star then left him to find his room. As soon as he found it and settled in, he went to find Twilight. She and Spike were in their room, finishing their checklist on her checklist.

"Oh! Hey Flaming Star!" exclaimed Twilight as he walked in, "You all settled in?"

Flaming Star nodded and said, "You know where this… er, princess Luna is? I could not find her anywhere."

Twilight shrugged, "She is the moon princess, so there is a chance that she is traveling the sky, waiting for her time to raise the moon. You will most probably run into her at night time. I still have a lot on my hoofs, but you're welcome to stay with me while you wait!"

Flaming Star smiled graciously and replied, "I appreciate the offer, but I think I will walk around for a bit first. When I'm done with that, I'll find you."

Flaming Star strolled the grand and well-lit halls of Canterlot castle, his head slowly oscillating from side-to-side as he took in every detail. Suddenly, something caught his eye: a large, stain glass window, with none other than Twilight's portrait imprinted forever on the glass. Flaming Star looked it up and down as he took it all in. Twilight had done much good in this dimension, and had saved it numerous times… a true hero. Flaming Star sighed… and who was he? Perhaps he had earned the right of being called a hero some time ago, but it was obvious he no longer deserved it; he had lost sight of what it all was about. The sound of casual trotting rang out behind him, and Flaming Star turned around. A regal looking unicorn was strolling behind him; however, he paused the moment he saw Flaming Star and stopped. Seeing this, Flaming Star nodded and said, "Greetings."

The unicorn sniffed and said, "Do I know you?"

Flaming Star raised an eyebrow and said, "I believe not. I am Flaming Star."

The unicorn nodded stiffly and replied, "I am Prince Blueblood. Are you of royalty?"

Flaming Star looked at the unicorn; there was something he didn't like about this pony. "I may be of royalty, and I may be not. What of it?"

Prince Blueblood looked Flaming Star over with a disinterested eye, "You are an alicorn. A relation of princess Celestia?"

Flaming Star shook his head slowly, "No, I hail from Ponyville."

Blueblood snorted, "YOU? Of Ponyville? Well then, I have nothing to say to such a commoner as yourself."

Flaming Star chuckled, "And what of the princess Twilight? She herself is of royalty, and yet spends her time as a citizen of Ponyville."

Blueblood rolled his eyes, as if he didn't expect Flaming Star to understand the complexities of heritage. "You see, my dear fellow," he chuckled, "the princess Twilight Sparkle may enjoy stooping herself low to spend time with her commoner friends, but she is born of Canterlot, her blood is pure. Her taste in friends is quite distasteful though, I might add."

Flaming Star mulled over the thought of grabbing Blueblood and knocking the tobacco juice out of him, but then thought better of it. "Well, I am born neither of Ponyville nor of Canterlot. And I am not of royal blood, but I suggest you treat others with respect."

Blueblood smirked, "Why ever should I do that?"

Flaming Star blinked, and then replied, "Because you someday find yourself all alone… without friends."

Blueblood laughed derisively, "Oh, my dear fellow. Why do you need friends? I have all I need right here." And the unicorn then proffered a hoof at himself.

Flaming Star was astonished as he suddenly realized the parallels between himself and this distasteful unicorn. Had he truly been like this? Had he really seen no need in friends? "I warn you," he said after a long pause, "you may think this now, but when something happens to you that causes you to lose what you hold the most dear, you will suddenly find yourself abandoned and forsaken. May God help you when that day comes, because you may never be as fortunate as I when I found myself in such a situation."

Blueblood just snorted and stuck his nose in the air and trotted off. Flaming Star's eyes followed him until the unicorn rounded the corner. That chance meeting had really struck a blow with him; the parallel had been too great. He had held only his victories and his perfection dear, and now that it had all gone down the drain, he was all alone… almost. "But… it is never too late for redemption," Flaming Star muttered as he turned around to continue to look through the panes. Slowly he went on strolling through the stain glass windows, observing all the ways friendship could help him overcome great trails.

"I missed all this?" breathed Flaming Star as he observed the different feats of the harmony bearers.

Suddenly, through a stain glass window, he saw Princess Luna flying to her sky-scraping tower in the distance. Nodding decisively, Flaming Star began to canter through the rooms and halls to approach the princess. Every once and a while, he would encounter guards, they would either challenge him momentarily, or simply bow in awe. Despite this, Flaming Star was making good time, and soon he had made it to the hall of thrones, here he encountered Luna, who was walking the other way.

Luna blinked as she saw Flaming Star cantering into the hall, "You there," she said, "Who are you?"

Flaming Star nodded his head, "I am a friend of Sunset Shadow, Flaming Star. I am here to discuss something with your highness."

Luna looked at Flaming Star and said slowly, "Very well, what is it that you want?"

Flaming Star shook his head, "I have nothing to ask for, but I do have some choice information that you might find useful."

Luna cocked her head to one side and said, "I see. Carry on."

Flaming Star nodded, "Do you remember a pony of the name Regal Crescent?"

Luna gasped, "I do. How come you by this name?"

"Regal Crescent was one of my, and Sunset's, types: a dimensional traveler. In fact, he was the one in charge of bringing the harmony tree here."

Luna looked excitedly, and a little unroyal-like, around, "Is he here?"

Flaming Star bowed his head, "He is not, and he turned his heart away from the light, and is traveling a path that is shrouded in nothing but darkness as of now."

Luna looked a little flustered, "But… but how is that possible? He was the most wonderful friend any princess could ask for!"

Flaming Star thought about what to say for a moment. Carefully picking his words, he replied, "It was, to some extent, my fault. Regal Crescent was my nephew, but he always envied me, believing that his father should have gained the powers that I possess. It started a rivalry that lasted many millennia, until finally he turned away to exact a proper revenge, without the restrictions of our code."

There was a deathly silence, broken only once by a lone tear falling from Luna's eye. After a deep sigh, she said, "I loved him."

Flaming Star nodded, "The princess Celestia told me of that. Perhaps… perhaps there is still hope for him."

Luna nodded, "I too turned away from the light once. Part due to what I believed was disrespect to the night I controlled, and perhaps partly due to my distress of the absolute disappearance of Regal Crescent. Anyway, I tried to take control of all of Equestria, but I was defeated and imprisoned on our moon for a thousand years. During that time, I realized there was nothing more dear to me than my sister, my friend. I remembered that feeling and, with the help of the harmony bearers, I turned my back on the darkness and came home."

Flaming Star moved slowly up to Luna and placed a hoof on her drooping shoulder and said, "You are right, there is always hope. Perhaps one day, I can seek Regal Crescent out, and tell him of your story, and make him see that it is possible to return from great darkness. You did it, Sunset did it, he can do it."

Luna took another shaking sigh and said, "Thank you, I appreciate the news, I will admit that his disappearance has always been a weight, no matter how small, in my mind. Now there is hope."

Flaming Star smiled and began to walk away, "There is always hope. I will go now, but I will be back. Princess Celestia is allowing me and Twilight Sparkle to reside here for a few days before returning to Ponyville."

Luna nodded, and Flaming Star left the hall. He slowly made his way back to the guest rooms, his thoughts pounding around in his head. All these new emotions… bouncing about, how could he understand what was happening to him? In all the years of his life, he had not once encountered what he was feeling now, and it unnerved him. As he walked, he passed by Twilight.

"Flaming Star!" she said excitedly, eyes wide and bright, "Do you want me to show you around the castle? There are some awesome hangout spots!"

Flaming Star gave her a small, but wavering, smile. "I am fine, maybe later. I- I suppose I need to think right now." He continued by her and went to his room and sat on his bed, his mind pulling up memories and discarding them, looking for some way to disprove Blueblood's statements, and to prove Luna's.

Then Twilight came in, she peeked around the door and said quietly, "Hey, what's the matter?"

Flaming Star immediately tried to hide his distress, "I'm fine. I'm just tired. You know."

Twilight blinked, and then said, "I know you better than that now. What's the matter? You can tell me."

Flaming Star sighed, "I met Prince Blueblood."

Twilight rolled her eyes, "I know of him, he's not a nice character."

Flaming Star nodded, "I understand that, but I have met unfriendly beings before, it was the parallel I saw of myself in him that really unnerved me."

Twilight cocked her head to one said and said, "What do you mean? You are nothing like him!"

Flaming Star looked at Twilight with pain in his eyes. "I wish that were true," he sighed, "But he is... or WAS like me. He thinks he needs no friends because it gets into the way of valuing the thing he prizes the most: himself. I thought I needed no friends because I too thought they would interfere with my prize: constant, continuous, immaculate, victories. As I talked to Blueblood, I truly understood why most being hated me: I was absolutely unbearable, and I understand that now."

Twilight, still in the doorway, nodded. "I can see how that would unnerve you. But come on! You're not like that anymore! You've changed, and I can see that. You have friends!"

Flaming Star sighed, "Do I? I... I suppose I must really ask myself that question. Twilight, I'm sorry, but I would like a little time alone."


	18. Chapter 18 - Hammer Strike

_Dimension: My Little Pony_

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Canterlot Castle_

_Time: A couple of days after the arrival of Flaming Star_

Twilight's eyes dimmed slightly at Flaming Star's request, and it was obvious that she was saddened, but she nodded and quietly closed the door. Flaming Star turned his back to it and stared at his hoofs. Was Twilight right? Had he changed like Twilight said? Did he have friends? He sighed, he couldn't tell. It had gotten to the point where he couldn't even tell if he was lying to himself or not. What he really needed was a challenge... but what if he failed to prove that he had changed in the light of a chaotic event?

Flaming Star got up and slowly moved to look out the window of his room. The sky was bright, birds were singing... Then an explosion blasted through the courtyard below.

Flaming Star's jaw literally dropped. Was Canterlot under attack? Undoubtedly.

As the smoke cleared, Flaming Star nearly fell over when he saw the creatures marching through the flames: Demons, at least five of them, led by Xaphan.

Flaming Star took a shaking breath as his mind scrambled to collect his falculties. They were under attack by demons, the head demon was Xaphan the despoiler. Excellent hand-to-hand combatant, dead-eye with demonic energy bolts, answered only to Legion. Legion? How was this possible? Flaming Star was almost tempted to back away and even hide under his bed, but his warrior instincts took over as a plan too place. Already a mare and a stallion guard was dead, and the demons were advancing on the front gates, the royal cavalry was not mobilizing quick enough to protect the halls of Canterlot castle, he had to act.

Slowly, he walked up to his porch that was overhanging the large doors the demons were approaching. With a deep breath, he slowly stepped off and fell straight off and landed, hoofs-first, squarely in front of the approaching monsters, kicking up debris and shrapnel. Xaphan hissed deep and low as he saw the alicorn in front of him.

"Who dares oppose us?" he said with a laugh, quickly signaling two demons to begin to flank him.

"I do," said Flaming Star simply, not giving the slightest inclination in any form that he was building up a massive blast of pure energy within his front hoofs.

Xaphan looked him up and down and said, "It would be such a shame to tear such fair flesh as yours, creature," he hissed through twisted teeth, "Take us to your ruler, and we will spare you."

Flaming Star cocked his head to one side, pretending to deeply consider the offer. "What will you do when I take you to her?" he said.

Xaphan grinned as he forced out, "We wish to discuss incredibly important matters with... her."

Flaming Star eyed the two dead guards and the smoking hole in the castle wall as he said slowly, "You could have just knocked."

Xaphan narrowed his eyes and replied, "They attempted to stop us. Our mission is too important for us to be slowed. You are stalling! What is your answer?! NOW!"

Flaming Star shrugged, "No." he said simply. The two flanking demons rushed him from opposite sides. Flaming Star stood on his hinds legs as he released the twin bolts of energy, the blasts incinerated the demons' heads. Xaphan immediately recognized what was going on.

"It's the firstborn!" he shrieked, "recover, retreat, and retaliate!"

The other three demons did as he bade and scrambled backwards as they fired a wave of demonic energy to buy them time. Flaming Star simply wove between the blasts and decreased their lead, giving them no room to maneuver. Soon he had cut a neat hole through one demon with a conjured blade, and relieved the head of another demon with a bolt of black matter. Xaphan, seeing that they couldn't add any more ground between himself and the firstborn by retreating, nodded quickly to the last demon, which, with a shriek, jumped on top of Flaming Star. Flaming Star dodged backwards and froze the lurching monster into an ice block. Nevertheless, this was enough for Xaphan to scramble backwards, conjure up a demonic blade, and get into a ready stance. Flaming Star strolled up to Xaphan, conjuring up a blade of his own, and levitating it in front of him.

"Firstborn," snarled Xaphan, "why are you here?"

Flaming Star grinned, "I have friends here."

With a scream, Xaphan lunged at Flaming Star. He quickly blocked the attack and followed up with a sweeping cut of his own. Xaphan twirled out of the way, but was off balance for a split-second, all that Flaming Star needed to ram the butt of the blade's handle into Xaphan's chest. Xaphan toppled over, did a backwards somersault, and returned the blow with a massive sweeping slash diagonally. Flaming Star simply side-stepped it, strode in close, and slashed Xaphan's face. Xaphan leapt backwards, but the tip of the blade cut a slim line across the right cheek, right above the jaw.

"You are quick," hissed Xaphan as he ran a long, slithering tongue across the wound, "But you will never prevail."

Flaming Star didn't reply, he was in the phase, nothing could distract him.

Quickly Flaming Star moved in, struck, dodged, parried, and struck again. Xaphan barely managed to move out of the way of the last attack, but stumbled slightly across an askew path stone. This was all Flaming Star needed and, once again, he leapt upon Xaphan with a slicing blow. It caught the demon across the chest, cutting a deep slash. Xaphan fell over, and Flaming Star prepared to leap forward and kill the demon when he realized something... Xaphan never worked in fives... he always worked in twenties. Where were the other fifteen? Then he realized something else, there were sounds of battle going inside the castle, something that should not have happened if he had stopped them at the front door. No one but travelers could really stop demons, and Twilight never ran away from a fight. Twilight was in trouble.

Despite the fact that it went against every nerve in his body, Flaming Star turned straight around and galloped towards the front door at full speed. As he burst in, his eyes met total disaster. At least twelve guards lay dead on the floor of the entry hall as twenty others battled four demons. Immediately Flaming Star moved forward and immediately burnt two demons to a crisp. The other two turned to face him, but a hail of magic blasts from the royal guard took one down, and a bolt of magic from princess Luna cut the other one down. Flaming Star ran to the unicorn that looked like the leader. He was on the ground with gash in his side, but he was still conscious.

"There should be more," said Flaming Star briskly as he held up the head of the gold-clad unicorn, "did you see anymore?"

The leader gritted his teeth but nodded, "one got by us. He's upstairs!"

Flaming Star felt his heart start with an icy fear.

Luna immediately spread her wings to leave, but Flaming Star shook his head. "No," he said, "Let me go, I can get there faster."

Gently laying down the wounded unicorn's head, he teleported himself up to Twilight's room. As the room blurred into view, Flaming Star saw another nightmare: Spike was unconscious, and Twilight was on the floor with her back right leg badly broken, and a demon was standing over her with a flaming spear, ready to strike. Flaming Star moved faster than he had ever moved in his life. In literally a single microsecond, he had whipped up a hoof and released a blast of pure power. It caught the demon full in the face, incinerating it immediately. Flaming Star was by Twilight's side before the dead body even hit the ground.

Tears were shimmering in her eyes as Twilight gasped in pain, "You came..."

Flaming Star quickly looked out the window and saw Xaphan get up and teleport away. He had failed to kill them all, but it mattered not. What mattered was that everypony here was safe.

He slowly lay down next to Twilight's downed form and placed a hoof gently on her left haunch. He felt the muscles hot and tense with pain, so much so that he felt the pain as his own. He looked at Twilight and said, "You will be fine... everything will be fine."

Tears continued to seep out of the corners of her eyes as she said, "You saved my life."

Flaming Star smiled, "You saved MY life."

Breathing in another shaky breath, Twilight gasped as she grabbed onto Flaming Star's other hoof and squeezed it very tight, "It burns…"

Flaming Star nodded and gently pressed his hoof into her haunch, releasing a soothing aura of energy to surround her leg, lessening the pain. Twilight sighed, and her eyes fluttered. Soon she passed out, with her hoof clutching at his. Flaming Star too sighed, the worst was over… He closed his eyes, laid his head down next to the unconscious form of Twilight, and went to sleep.

* * *

_Dimension: My Little Pony_

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Ponyville Town Square_

_Time: 1004 years after the defeat of Nightmare Moon_

Sunset and Fluttershy were trotting side-by-side down town square to visit Rarity when they were joined by Applejack.

"How y'all doin'?" she said cheerily as she slowed to their pace, "It's a beautiful day ain't it?"

Fluttershy nodded, "Oh yes, it is. I really enjoy the weather."

Sunset just nodded.

"Where y'all off to?" continued Applejack.

Sunset replied, "Oh, we're off to see Rarity. She was making something for our baby, and we wanted to check how the design was progressing."

Applejack rolled her eyes, "A dress ALREADY? Ain't you still six months away, Fluttershy?"

Fluttershy blushed and mumbled, "Yes… but Rarity asked so nicely."

Sunset laughed, "More like insisted. But if Rarity wants something, she rarely doesn't get it. How about you, Applejack? Where are you off to?"

Applejack grinned, "I'm off to Pinkie's! Gotta work on some apple cupcakes with her for a party!"

Fluttershy smiled, "That sounds delicious."

"Woo-eeh!" exclaimed Applejack, "It sure does, I suppose you two don't want to come along and help. Helpers get free samples!"

Sunset grinned, but looked at Fluttershy.

Fluttershy thought about it for a moment, "We were intending to drop in unannounced on Rarity, so she won't be missing us, I suppose we could spend a little time helping."

Sunset looked up at the sun's position and said, "I suppose we could. But not too much time…"

Suddenly, the chariot of princess Celestia crossed the sun, casting a large shadow, circled around, and landed in town square. The three turned to see Celestia exiting her chariot regally to talk momentarily with Mayor Mare. The two quietly talked urgently in a corner of the center gazebo.

Rainbow Dash landed behind Applejack, Fluttershy, and Sunset and trotted up.

Sunset greeted Rainbow with a nod. "Hey Rainbow," he said, "How are you doing?"

Rainbow nodded and squinted at the two, still whispering urgently. "I'm fine… what do you think they're talking about?"

Sunset shrugged, "I haven't seen Celestia that nervous since the attack of Abbadon… but I'm sure nothing is wrong. Princess Celestia probably forgot something important pertaining to Ponyville, and Mayor Mare is alerting her of the mistake."

Then screaming started. It first started as a single shout, then it intensified, and finally was compounded by an explosion. Sunset's ears flattened with horror as he realized they were under attack by somepony… or something.

Grabbing Fluttershy, he dove to the ground and shouted, "EVERYPONY DOWN! NOW!"

An explosion ripped through the square as a bolt of energy slammed into the gazebo, rocketing Mayor Mare and princess Celestia in different directions. Mayor Mare crashed through a window, and Celestia slammed into a wall and slid to the ground. Immediately Sunset leapt up, breathing heavily as he looked around for the source of the attack… nothing, too much smoke, debris, and dust. He looked at Rainbow Dash.

"Rainbow! Get in the air! Identify the attackers! Applejack! See my wife safely home! I'll deal with this!"

Rainbow saluted, and Applejack shouldered Fluttershy, who had feinted. Sunset ran to Celestia and helped her up; blood was oozing from a gash on her head, just above the left eyebrow.

"Celestia," Sunset briskly, "How are you?"

Celestia staggered to her feet, wiping away the blood with a hoof. "I am fine, Sunset," she said, he voice full of shock, "What is going on?"

Rainbow, at that moment, landed next to them and shouted, "There are ten of them! Weird monster thingys! They shoot energy out of their claws!"

Sunset groaned. "Demons," he said, "They are demons. Rainbow Dash, Celestia, we need to contain them. Are there guards anywhere near?"

Celestia shook her head, but signaled to her two Pegasus guards from her chariot. "We only have two."

Sunset nodded, racking his mind for solutions. Could he really bring himself to kill again? Where was Flaming Star and Twilight?

After a short pause, he sighed and said, "Rainbow Dash, take the two guards and circle around, use the element of surprise and your air advantage to drive the forward, we need to keep them from splitting up. Drive them towards the town square, Celestia and I have the firepower, we will deal with them."

Rainbow Dash nodded with a determined look on her face. "Gotcha Sunset," she said, "Operation kick-demon-rump is a go!"

With that, she sped off with the guards. Sunset turned to Celestia, who still had shock etched on her face, but with determination emanating from her eyes.

"Celestia, are you sure you're okay?" said Sunset.

Celestia replied, "I am fine, Sunset, just a little shaken up. What do I need to know to battle against these demons?"

Sunset nodded decisively. "They have the ability to fire bolts, streams, and waves of demonic energy, which is like dark magic, except specifically lacerating. They also can conjure up demonic hand-to-hand weaponry. They are fast, ruthless, insane, and hard to kill, but we possess the firepower… but…"

Sunset paused and looked down at his hoofs, feeling a wave of intense nausea sweeping over him. Celestia moved her head down to look into his eyes and said quietly, "But what? Sunset?"

Sunset sighed again, but deeper. "Well… I… I don't know if I can bring myself to end another being's life… even a demon's life."

"I understand," replied princess Celestia, "perhaps there is a way to prevent their deaths."

Sunset looked forward as he saw the progress Rainbow Dash and Sunset were making through the town. There were fewer explosions now, as the range of the attacks focused in on the three Pegasus. Sunset's throat clenched as a bolt took off the head of one of the Pegasus guards. Another bolt followed up quickly and cut the other guard clean in half. Rainbow Dash was visibly shaken, but she kept at her job diligently.

Sunset shook his head, his eyes mournful, "I… I don't know. By killing innocent beings, do the demons give up their right to exist? Even if they do, when did we earn the right to end them?"

There was no more time to talk, the ten demons burst into the time square, and were met with a massive blast of magic from princess Celestia. Six dodged the blast, but the other four were caught in it, frozen, as it seems, in time. The six rushed Celestia and Sunset, splitting up into threes. Sunset rushed his three and froze two of the immediately. He then conjured up a sword and he clashed it with the demonic broadsword of the demon. The two immediately began to engage in hand-to-hand combat.

Celestia too was caught up in her own battle. She immediately used her magic to drop a large block of debris onto one, and then caught another in the face with a bolt of magic. The third rammed her and bowled her over. Suddenly, Rainbow Dash rammed it from behind and slammed it into a wall at top speed. Rainbow then grabbed a large block of stone and hurled it at the demon Sunset was fighting. The demon stumbled from the blow, and then collapsed as Sunset struck it across the face with his sword's handle. There was a short pause. Then Xaphan teleported into their midst. He looked around slowly at the battlefield with a confused look on his face, suddenly Rainbow Dash had knocked him off his feet, and Sunset was pressing his blade against his throat. Xaphan looked at Sunset, and then recognized him.

"Joseph Torrus… the madman of the multiverse, what are you doing here? Do you know that the firstborn is here?" Xaphan hissed through his yellow, gnarled teeth.

Sunset narrowed his eyes as he pressed the blade harder against the demons throat, a trickle of blood began to seep from around the blade. "I do… Xaphan. I am no longer the 'madman of the multiverse,' and I would appreciate it if you abstained from calling me that. Why are you here? There is no Legion to command you; did you finally have the guts to launch an attack of your own against a harmony unit? Did you not think it would be guarded?"

Xaphan gave a gurgling laugh as he replied, "You fools! Legion has returned! The plan is in motion! Kill me, and another will rise in my place, and then another, and then another, and then another. There is no stopping us!"

Sunset smiled coldly as he said, "Well, then it is lucky that I'm not killing you. Go back to Legion and tell him that the most powerful travelers of the ages of dimensional travelers have this place under guard, and that no demon will survive the next time they attack. If he doesn't believe me, ask Legion to hold a conversation with Abbadon in the seventh circle, I am sure he will be more than happy to verify the information I just gave you. Now get the hell out of here before I accidentally slip and cut your throat. Go, and take whatever living demons you have with you."

Xaphan looked curiously at Sunset, but then nodded. With a vicious grin, he teleported away; the ten unconscious demons around him dissolved into nothing.

Sunset straightened up and looked at Rainbow Dash, who was shaking slightly.

"Are you okay?" Celestia asked kindly.

Rainbow nodded her head vigorously, but continued to shake, "Y-y-yeah… I mean, why wouldn't I? Heh…"

Rainbow slowly turned around, and then threw up onto the ground. Sunset winced but turned to Celestia, who had great sadness in her eyes as she looked around.

"Minimal structural damage, two confirmed deaths, probably a score wounded by the sound of it," said Sunset to Celestia, patting Rainbow on the back, "See if you can revive Mayor Mare and begin rescue operation. Rainbow? Are you okay? We need to begin heading whoever you can find into rescue teams."

Rainbow gagged, and then straightened up, a look of determination on her face. "I'm on it, Sunset," Rainbow said, and she blasted off.

Sunset nodded to Celestia and immediately teleported himself to Canterlot castle. As the surrounding environment melted away and was replaced with the scenery of the castle, he was suddenly surrounded by a large group of unicorn guards, all pointing their horns at him.

Sunset immediately noticed the broken wall and front gate; he turned to the guard nearest to him and said, "Back down, guards. It is I, Sunset. Where is Princess Luna? And where are Flaming Star and Twilight Sparkle?"

The unicorns backed up and put their heads up. "Sunset Shadow," the leader of the group said, "we were attacked by monsters, but Flaming Star defeated them. Luna right now is flying to Ponyville at top speed, I believe Twilight Sparkle and Flaming Star are upstairs in the guest rooms."

Sunset nodded and was about to teleport away when Discord flashed into view. He looked around with genuine surprise as he said, "My, my… what happened here? Did you let Pinkie Pie host a birthday here again?"

Sunset shook his head vigorously. "Discord! Where the hell have you been?!"

Discord put a clawed hand on his chest as he said, "Me? I've been here and there. Today, in fact, I was traveling about Baltimare, looking for Princess Celestia. I heard she was at a formal of some sort, and I wanted to… er, pay it a visit. Why? What happened here?"

"There's been a demon attack. One at Ponyville, and apparently one here as well. I need you to sweep the countryside to ensure there are not any other attacks anywhere else!"

Discord saluted and disappeared without another word. With that, Sunset teleported to the guest rooms.

The hall was absolutely silent as Sunset shimmered into view, and he looked around. One door was ajar slightly, so Sunset slowly pushed it open. He found Spike completely out still, with Twilight Sparkle and Flaming Star sleeping quietly side-by-side. Sunset smiled as he sat down in the doorway, quietly waiting for one of the three to wake.

* * *

_Dimension: The Inferno_

_Planet: The Inferno_

_Specific Location: The Inferno_

_Time: Eternity_

Legion was staring across the seven circles of the infernal real, contemplating his plans for the future of eternity when Xaphan teleported behind him.

"You returned alive; I can only assume you return with glad tidings of your gloriously bloody victory," rumbled Legion without turning around.

Xaphan placed his face at the feet of Legion as he hissed, "My lord, we were defeated. But one of the creature that resided there said to give you a message-"

That was as far as he got. Legion stepped on Xaphan's head and crushed it to a pulp. Legion returned to his original position of viewing the seven circles.

"It seems I have underestimated you… James and Joseph," breathed Legion, "You killed my incompetent servants. But perhaps… perhaps…"

An idea formed in Legion's head and his sentence trailed off. Raising an armored fist, he snapped his fingers once. Again, a ripple spread through the air, and the arch-demon Astaroth materialized from nowhere to place herself at his feet.

"My lord?" she rasped.

Legion motioned her to rise, and she did.

"Stand before me," he commanded, and she complied. With one swift movement, Legion plunged an armored fist into her chest and ripped out her heart. Astaroth gave a gurgle of surprise and tumbled to the ground. Legion looked the bloody mass over and chuckled.

"The heart of a female arch-demon… one of the rarest commodities in the multiverse black market… A dimensional traveler will probably do anything for one of these…"

* * *

**Note: Hey everypony! I just wanted you guys to know that there might be a chance that I will stop posting as frequently as I have been. I'm thinking of instead of doing it every 24 hours, I might post a new chapter every other day. Remember, it is only a chance, it's not a certainty! Thanks!**


	19. Chapter 19 - Rebound

_Dimension: My Little Pony_

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Canterlot Castle_

_Time: Three days after the arrival of Flaming Star_

Flaming Star opened his eyes and looked around. The first thing he noticed was Twilight, who was still completely asleep. Smiling calmly, shifting a little bit to get comfortable, he prepared to drift back to sleep when he heard a voice.

"You're awake, Flaming Star. I need to talk to you."

It was Sunset. Flaming Star scrambled up, but was careful not to wake Spike or Twilight, who was still clutching to one of his hoofs. He cleared his throat and said, "Can… can I help you?"

Sunset nodded and said, "Xaphan was here, and he said that Legion had returned."

Flaming Star nodded. "I thought that that was a possibility," he replied, "If Legion has returned, then he will undoubtedly try to destroy the harmony units. What's more, if he is free from his icy prison, then he knows our situation, that we are the last true travelers. And if he knows that, then this place will be the focus point of his attacks. The harmony tree will prevent this universe from being completely destroyed, but it will not prevent us from all being slaughtered."

Sunset nodded again. "That is understood, come on, Flaming Star, Luna and Celestia are meeting up in Ponyville, we must join them and explain the situation."

Flaming Star started to get up, paused, and then sat down again. "No," he said, "I'm not leaving Twilight's side. I'm staying here."

Sunset blinked. "You do realize how important this is, don't you?" he asked, almost incredulously, "Since when did having a dear friend get into the way of victories and glories?"

Flaming Star looked pointedly at Sunset and replied, "Since when did having a wife get into the way of mindlessly killing civilians?"

Sunset smiled. "You have changed, firstborn," he said, "And it is for the better. I will deal with it; you watch over Twilight and keep her safe."

With that, Sunset teleported away, leaving Flaming Star all alone. Flaming Star sighed, he had passed the test: he was true to himself. Lying down next to Twilight's head, Flaming Star drifted back to sleep.

* * *

_Dimension: My Little Pony_

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Ponyville Town Square_

_Time: 1004 years after the defeat of Nightmare Moon_

Celestia quickly cantered up to Luna, who had landed in a hurry in Ponyville town square.

"Sister!" exclaimed Luna, "We were under attack… by demons!"

There was a pause as Luna noticed the battle-scarred area. She looked at Celesta, who was still bleeding from her wound on her head. "Were… were they here too?"

Celestia nodded, and Luna rushed up to hug her.

"They were, dear sister," murmured Celestia, "But they are gone. Sunset and I defeated them here. How is the castle?"

Luna, still burying her face in Celestia, replied, "It is safe. We lost a score of guards at most, but Flaming Star managed to defeat them all. Equestria is safe, I believe… for now."

Celestia nodded, speaking softly. "We are, as of now, at war. We must set up shields and send out patrols, scouring all of Equestria. We do not know when the next demon wave will come."

Luna pulled back and said, "Yes, we must. But where is Sunset? He must know of what to do."

Sunset at that moment teleported in, and Celestia turned to him. "Sunset Shadow," she said, "Do you know what the next step must be?"

Sunset shook his head. "We can only wait," he replied, "there is certainly going to be another attack, but I do not know where it will be, or when it will be. Legion is crafty, and almost swung the traveler-demon war his way more than once, I do not know what to expect. We must simply wait… and prepare."

Celestia nodded, "I understand. We will set up shields around the major cities, and Ponyville, and start an airbase scouting system based in Cloudsdale. We will have Pegasus scouts networking the whole of Equestria, searching for a sign. Do we know how many demons would attack us at maximum?"

Sunset shrugged, "Millions at maximum, but Legion doesn't work that way."

"Do you know how he works his plans, then?"

"No. I do not have enough experience with him, I only fought Abbadon and his battalion of demon warriors, the traveler-demon war was over two thousand years ago."

"Do you know someone who can tell us of what to expect? Where is Flaming Star?"

"Flaming Star is resting with Twilight Sparkle, I suggest we do not disturb them as of yet; we are safe for now."

With that, Sunset galloped at top speed to his house. Flinging open the door, he leapt inside and was met by Rarity, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy.

Fluttershy leapt up when she saw him and seized him in a tight hug. Tears seeped from the corner of her eyes as she said, "Oh, Sunset! I was so WORRIED!"

"We were all worried," said Rarity as she trotted up, "We hadn't the slightest idea what was going on! Fortunately the demons didn't hurt my home, or many other ponies' homes for that matter."

Sunset hugged Fluttershy tightly back and looked over her as he said, "How is everpony?"

Applejack winked, "We're just dandy! A little shaken up, but I think Rainbow got the worst of it, but she's fine."

As Fluttershy released him, Sunset moved up to Rainbow lifted her chin and looked into her eyes. "Are you okay, Rainbow?"

Rainbow nodded and said, "I… I guess. I've never been in a fight before, and seeing that one pony get blown in two was terrible…"

Sunset winced as the memory came back. "I know, war is a terrible thing, but you kept going and completed your mission, that is more than any of us could have asked for."

He then turned to Pinkie Pie and said, "Where were you when this was going on?"

Pinkie, who didn't seem in any way put out with the day's events scratched her head and said, "Eh… I was bouncing around when suddenly everything went dark. A blanket from a clothes hanger had somehow fallen over me. At first I thought I was in a hide and seek tag game with all that screaming going on, so I pretended to hide. After a while I got bored and came out! Rarity wasn't home, so I came here and found you all! Why, what's going on? Is it… A PARTY?!"

Sunset rolled his eyes and said, "Yeah… It was a party. Trust me, you didn't miss anything. What we need to do now is stay calm, I don't want to alarm you all, but there is a certainty that there will be another attack, princesses Celestia and Luna are preparing for the worst, and I am going to help them. I need you guys to take care of each other."

Applejack nodded. "Just like old times! Uh… where's Twi and Spike?"

Sunset waved a hoof in a randomly picked direction, "Oh, she's with Flaming Star, protecting Canterlot castle during the absence of Luna and Celestia. What's important is that you guys stay safe."

Applejack and Rarity nodded and Rainbow Dash saluted. "You can count on me!" she exclaimed.

Fluttershy moved up and took Sunset's hoof. "What about you? Who will keep you safe?"

Sunset grinned. "I'll be fine, dear. I have no intention of dying… ever."

Fluttershy wrung her mane as she replied, "Oh… but I can't take the thought of you being all alone, without friends."

Sunset kissed her forehead and said, "Who said I was going to be alone? I'm staying within Equestria, and no doubt I will have somepony with me. We need to just make sure Equestria is secure from another attack."

Fluttershy moved closed and grabbed Sunset and pulled him into another hug. Sunset simply held it there and closed his eyes.

Applejack blushed and looked at the rest and said, "Well, y'all, I gotta get goin'. I need to make sure Sweet Apple Acres is all secure and like for the upcoming harvest. Can't be havin' no demons comin' in and messing up my crop!"

Rarity nodded, "Oh yes, most certainly! I will be back at my abode… doing, er, something."

Rainbow nodded, "Yep! I'm going to see what I can do for princess Celestia! Come ON Pinkie!"

Rainbow grabbed Pinkie and the four left as Fluttershy and Sunset continued hugging.

* * *

_Dimension: My Little Pony_

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Canterlot Castle_

_Time: Four days after the arrival of Flaming Star_

Flaming Star's eyes snapped open. He looked around, Twilight was STILL unconscious, but Spike was beginning to stir. Flaming Star stretched out a hoof and poked him. Groaning, Spike opened an eye and then shut it again. After a moment of silence, Spike slowly sat up and rubbed his eyes. Suddenly he jumped up and shouted, "Demons! Bad! Help!"

Quickly, Flaming Star got up and slapped a hoof over his mouth. "Shhh! Not so loud! Twilight is asleep!"

Spike swayed in place as he shook his head. She then looked at Twilight, and then at Flaming Star.

"What happened?" he asked.

Flaming Star rubbed his head as he said, "Well, I came in just in time to save Twilight. However, her back leg is broken badly. She passed out from the pain a while ago."

Tears welled up in Spike's eyes as he said, "Oh man… I hope she's okay!"

Flaming Star gently rolled Twilight onto her back. Prying his hoof from Twilight's grasp he began to gently feel her broken leg, wincing as his senses alerted him of multiple fractures and a total break and dislocation of the bone.

"That goddamn demon… He got less than he deserved, doing this to her." Muttered Flaming Star.

Spike went up and gently tapped Flaming Star, "Can you help her?"

Flaming Star pulled a face. "I really hope so," he replied, "I really, really hope so."

He began to slowly massage her leg, letting healing energy flow out of him and into the broken leg. There were clicks and snaps as the bone began to move around. Just the sounds cause Spike to feint again. Ignoring the prone form of Spike, Flaming Star continued his work. After a minute or so, he sighed, it was done. She would most certainly be limping for a bit, but the damage was reversed.

At that moment, Twilight shifted in her sleep, ever so slightly. Leaning forward, Flaming Star pressed his forehead against hers, blazing his eyes into her soul through her closed eyelids, looking for a sign of her awakening. She shifted again and slowly opened her bright eyes. She immediately noticed Flaming Star, whose eyes were literally a hairsbreadth away. She blinked, and Flaming Star sighed and moved backwards. He then pulled her into a sitting position. Rubbing her eyes, Twilight looked around blearily.

"Wha… What happened?" she murmured.

Flaming Star smiled. "You were unconscious," he said, "So I healed your broken bone."

Twilight looked around again as she said, "How is everypony? Where is Spike?"

Flaming Star patted her hoof and said, "Everypony is safe, the demons are gone. Spike is over there. He was awake earlier, but he feinted again as I fixed your broken leg."

Twilight motioned for Flaming Star to come closer, and he complied. Leaning forward shakily, she grasped him in a hug. Flaming Star awkwardly returned the favor. After a moment, he slowly eased away.

"Can you walk?" he said.

Twilight shook her head. "I have no idea," she replied.

Flaming Star got up and slowly helped her onto all fours. Shakily, she took a limping step, then two. Flaming Star gave a huge breath of relief and then turned to Spike. Shaking him gently, he brought the baby dragon back to his senses. Spike opened his eyes and saw Twilight.

"Twi!" he exclaimed, and he rushed forward to hug her. After a moment, he said, "What's going on?"

Twilight rubbed the back of her head as she replied, "I really am not sure. There was that demon… but then Flaming Star saved me. I think everything is fine now."

Flaming Star nodded. "Everything is fine. What we need to do now is prepare Canterlot for a whole new level of warfare. I know how Legion works; I fought him in the traveler-demon war. He isn't going to follow up with another demon attack, they were just scouts. He will either send in a group of elite demons as a strike force, or maybe even a team of arch-demons to fight us. He won't send an army just yet."

Twilight bowed her head, "I couldn't even fight one. How are we to stop them?" A lone tear fell from her eyes and splashed to the ground.

Flaming Star smiled quietly. Trotting up to her, he lifted her chin, as they made eye contact, Flaming Star seized her in his first EVER given hug from his heart. After a pause, the door to her room opened, and none other than princess Cadence stepped in. She looked at them and said, "Oh… I'm sorry…"

Flaming Star and Twilight released each other and turned to Cadence.

Twilight limped up to her and said, "Hello Cadence! This is the alicorn I told you about! Flaming Star!"

Cadence gave him a bow, and Flaming Star returned it. "Shining Armor and I have shown up to see what was happening," Cadence explained. "Sunset showed up to tell me that Ponyville and Canterlot had been under attack by a demon strike force, and to be on the lookout. He said he and his wife were holding Ponyville, while you and Flaming Star were protecting here. I didn't want to leave my sister-in-law hanging, so Shining Armor and I came here as fast as we could!"

Twilight gave Cadence a huge smile. "Thanks, Cadence! We really appreciate it. So far, everything looks quiet."

Cadence nodded. "From the looks of it, repairs are underway, and the citizens have been calmed down. Everything seems to be under control."

At that moment, Shining Armor strolled in. Twilight limped up to him and gave him a hug.

"Hey sis!" he exclaimed, "How are you?"

Twilight smiled ruefully and scratched the back of her head, saying, "I'm okay. I sorta broke my leg while fighting a demon, but I'm fine now. Flaming Star defeated them all."

Flaming Star frowned, his thoughts momentarily lingering on his failure to annihilate Xaphan. Then he nodded and went up to Shining Armor. He bowed low and said, "I am pleased to meet you."

Shining Armor returned the bow and said, "Likewise. Flaming Star, from what Twilight has told us about you in her last letter, you know about what is going on?"

Flaming Star nodded. "I do. It seems that the demon commander-in-chief, Legion, has broken free of the prison that had held him in the infernal realm for a long time. If this is true, he is preparing to assault this dimension to destroy the tree of harmony, something that all demons fear. We defeated the advance party, but Legion will not necessarily follow up with a battalion of demons. He will probably follow up with a group of heavy-hitters to weaken a specific location and to gain a foothold."

Shining Armor nodded. "I understand. So what we need to do is disperse our own 'heavy-hitters' in important locations that are likely prone to attack in order to cancel their elite forces."

Flaming Star nodded. "Agreed. Undoubtedly we will be spread thin though, so we will need to have an efficient communication and relocation system in order for us to refocus reinforcements when we are attacked."

"We could use Cloudsdale Pegasus, or the Wonderbolts, as messangers," suggested Cadence.

Flaming Star and Twilight nodded, and Shining Armor said, "Excellent. We are in agreement."

Flaming Star raised a hoof, and a magic-induced hologram of Equestria appeared in the center of Twilight's room. After a pause of looking it over, Flaming Star said, "The prime locations are Canterlot, the capital, Ponyville, the homes of the harmony bearers, and the Everfree forest, the harmony tree's location. Unless I am mistaken, the scouting parties only hit Ponyville and Canterlot, which leads me to assume that they have not yet deduced that the Everfree forest houses the harmony tree."

Twilight peered at the map and said, "That's good. We need to keep the focus away from it as possible. Do we have any suggestions on how to do that?"

Shining Armor shrugged. "It's risky," he said, "but I suggest we focus a large group of guards and maybe you or Sunset in a totally different town to completely throw off Legion's sense of location of where the tree is."

"That is a risky, but excellent, idea," said Flaming Star, "do we have any prime locations where we could set up such a diversion?"

"I know of some good places," interjected Twilight, pointing at the map, "We could either do Dodge Junction, or maybe even Vanhoover. They are both remote, concentrated, sparsely inhabited, and quite a ways from the Everfree forest."

Flaming Star nodded his head vigorously, "Nice choices Twilight. We also have another advantage: we have Discord."

Cadence looked at Flaming Star and raised an eyebrow. "Discord?" she asked, "What does he have to do with this?"

Twilight's eyes brightened, "I forgot! Discord is a dimensional traveler too!"

Cadence looked at Flaming Star, and then looked at Twilight. "Why didn't I ever know this?"

Twilight blushed and looked at her hoofs. "Sorry," she mumbled, "I sort of forgot after Sunset told me."

Flaming Star waved a hoof. "It's okay, it's not important. It is best that the extent of his powers is kept a secret. What we need to do now is ask him to watch over the Everfree forest. This way, if Shining Armor and I gambled wrong, he can hold the demons off long enough for Sunset and I to get there."

Shining Armor nodded decisively. "Wonderful, we have a plan."

Spike then spoke up. "Great! Um… Flaming Star? How long do you think we have?"

Flaming Star grimaced. "I really don't know. Demons have dimensional traveler-equivalent lifespans, so a hundred years is a mere blink in their existence. With this mindset, we could be waiting years. Or we could be waiting seconds. We cannot really-"

Flaming Star stopped and looked out the window. He squinted his eyes as he continued peering into the distance.

"Flaming Star?" asked Twilight, who began to feel very nervous, "What is it?"

Flaming Star's eyes widened in pure horror as he shouted, "DATHAN!"

Then the room exploded.

* * *

**Note: Sorry for the long pause everypony! I have been busy with other stuff. Fortunately, I managed to stockpile a couple of extra chapters in my Doc Manager, so I think we'll be set with the chapter updates for a few days or so! Don't forget to review! I love reviews!**


	20. Chapter 20 - Regal Crescent

_Dimension: My Little Pony_

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Canterlot Castle_

_Time: Four days after the arrival of Flaming Star_

The explosion blasted the five backwards.

Cadence and Shining armor flew one way, and Twilight, Spike, and Flaming Star flew the other way, out the window. Grabbing Twilight and Spike, Flaming Star spread his wings and glided gently to the ground.

Flaming Star straightened up, looking around wildly. Then swiping a hoof through the air, he encased the entire area with an energy shield. Immediately the bubble began to buckle from blasts of energy from the unseen attacker, but it held. Flaming Star then teleported into the burning tower, quickly returning with a disheveled Cadence and Shining Armor.

Coughing out soot, Cadence rubber her eyes and said, "What's going on?"

Flaming Star sighed and replied, "The second attack. Legion did what I least expected, he set a traitorous dimensional traveler on us. We are in a really bad position."

Shining Armor winced as another massive explosion splashed over the shielding. "What can we do?" he said.

"Okay, here is what is going to happen," replied Flaming Star, "Twilight, I need you to fly as fast as you can to Ponyville. We need to get Luna and Sunset here. I have an idea."

Twilight shook her head vigorously. "I'm staying here with you," she said stoutly.

Flaming Star nodded. "Fair enough. Okay, Cadence and Spike, I need you two to get to Ponyville posthaste. I will hold Dathan off for as long as possible. Twilight, go get as many guards as you can."

Cadence nodded, than cringed as the bubble collapsed with an echoing pop. Quickly she gave Twilight a hug and exchanged a kiss with Shining Armor, then she spread her wings, Spike gave Twilight a hug and hopped onto her back, and they took off. As they did that, Flaming Star slammed a hoof into the ground, kicking up a massive blast of smoke and dust to cloak her escape. As it cleared, a lone, black and red unicorn faced them, glowing with energy and hovering a few feet off the ground.

"Dathan Enosson," snarled Flaming Star, "Or should I say… Regal Crescent."

The black unicorn placed a hoof on his chest as he said, "Oh my. You recognized me! How ever did someone as stupid as you figure that out?"

Flaming Star signaled to Shining Armor, who began to slowly and surely circle around. "Well, for starters, you wouldn't shut up about yourself in pony form for at least ten years," said Flaming Star, "Also, as you should know, unicorns don't regularly fly around and shoot explosive energy out of their horns and hoofs."

Regal Crescent kept one eye on Shining Armor as he replied, "I suppose. I guess I really have fallen out of touch with this place since you drove me away."

Flaming Star bared his teeth and took a step forward. "I NEVER drove you away. It was your own fault. Why, Regal Crescent? Why? You love this place! How much did Legion offer?"

Regal Crescent laughed out loud, his voice echoing through the empty courtyard. "Well," he replied, "He offered me the heart of a female arch-demon, that could buy me an entire planet. And if that wasn't enough, he gave me a perfect chance to kill my worst enemy: you."

With that said, Regal Crescent dove towards Flaming Star, who rocketed up towards him in return. They collided with a massive concussive explosion which set everypony flying backwards, and blowing a whole section of Canterlot castle's wall down. Flaming Star immediately recovered and fired off a blast of energy. Regal Crescent ducked and returned fire. Flaming Star flipped over the blast and fired dual bolts, one from the air and one as he hit the ground. Regal Crescent dodged one, but the second singed his blood red mane. Snarling, Regal Crescent levitated a long, sharp, stone shard from the downed wall and hurled it at supersonic speed towards Flaming Star's face. Flaming Star conjured up an energy shield in front of him, and the shard smashed into it, shattering into dust and slivers. Flaming Star immediately followed up by dropping the shield and launching a massive rolling fireball. Regal Crescent froze the whole plume of flame into ice, shattered it, and hurled the icy knives back, which Flaming Star promptly dodged via teleportation.

As this was going on, Shining Armor, who had hid in some bushes after the concussive explosion to conceal his presence, began to make his way around until he was directly behind Regal Crescent. He then levitated a massive block of stone using his magic and hurled it at high speeds towards the black unicorn's head. Somehow, at the last second, Regal Crescent ducked and the block flew over his head, and crashed straight into Flaming Star. Stumbling, Flaming Star was disoriented enough to be too slow to dodge the blast of kinetic energy from Regal Crescent that sent him spinning into a wall. Laughing, Regal Crescent followed up with a concentrated bolt of pure energy, that would have surely cut Flaming Star in half. However, Flaming Star flipped over, jumped off the wall he had collided with, and spun through the air, releasing a hail of conjured daggers as he dodged the blast. Regal Crescent melted these daggers into slag with a massive blast of thermal energy; he then molded the slag into a ball of magma, and hurled back at Flaming Star, who froze it and shattered it with a hoof.

Once again, Shining Armor released a bolt of magic from his horn, which Regal Crescent dodged with ease, but Flaming Star, knowing what was going to happen, released a perfectly timed bolt of energy at the same time, and the black unicorn reeled right into it, knocking him high into the air. He landed on all fours perfectly, and teleported behind Shining Armor. Shining Armor tried to react, but a tremendous hoof-punch to the face sent him flying to Flaming Star's side, who caught him quickly and set him upright. There was a long pause, with the three staring intensely at each other.

Suddenly, a large army of Unicorn, Earth Pony, and Pegasus guards rushed in and surrounded the entire area, all looking directly at Regal Crescent. Regal Crescent looked around and laughed.

"Is this how you choose to fight me?" he roared, "With an army at your back? My, the dishonor, the shame! You know that you cannot face me!"

Flaming Star simply smiled. "Oh, I can, but I'm just letting you think that I can't. Tell you what, let's say you're just better than me in some way, and let's just take that at face value. When we're done with that, I will have a clean conscious and set all these wonderful guards on your ass. It will be hilarious."

Foam began to froth at the corners of Regal Crescent's mouth as he yelled, "You're trying to provoke me!"

Flaming Star, this time, laughed. "Well DUH! Of course I am. Everyone knows I could beat you in a fair fight really."

"THEN PROVE IT! FACE ME!"

"Eh… no. I don't want to risk anything. So here's what we're going to do. We're going to take you down, all two hundred of us, and we're going to lock you up. You can rant all you want about me not being awesome or something stupid, but it really doesn't matter."

Now shaking uncontrollably with rage, Regal Crescent's voice went dangerously low as he said, "That's right, James, it's all about the win isn't it?"

Flaming Star dropped the façade and glared at his advisory. "No," he replied, "It is no longer. I will do whatever it takes to stop you from hurting my friends. Winning is simply a side effect… of your stupidity."

Regal Crescent screamed. The scream was louder than anything anypony in Equestria had ever heard, and the sheer power of knocked almost everypony in the area clean out. Flaming Star, Twilight, Shining Armor and Regal Crescent were now the only ones awake in the entire courtyard.

Raising an eyebrow, Flaming Star looked around. "Well," he muttered, "I suppose I can be wrong now and again."

He then looked at Regal Crescent, who had regained his composure and was now grinning ravenously like a wolf before a lamb. "So," Flaming Star said, "I suppose we get to slug it out then. Cool, cool… so, who get's to go first?"

Regal Crescent released a massive blast of dark matter from one of his front hoofs straight at Flaming Star. Flaming Star simply nodded at the blast, and it stopped. With a flick of his eyes, he rearranged the matter into the shape of a spear and hurled it straight back. Regal Crescent rocketed upwards and dodged it. He then sped off into Canterlot castle, smashing through several walls in the process.

Flaming Star turned to Twilight and Shining Armor. "I'm going after him," he said, "You guys wait here for Cadence and the rest. Stay safe."

Twilight, whose eyes were wide with shock, nodded slowly.

Flaming Star turned around, spread his wings, and launched himself after Regal Crescent. Rising high in the air, Flaming Star slowly scanned the area, looking for signs of the fleeing black unicorn. He then heard a scream. It was high-pitched, and it was full of terror. Quickly, Flaming Star went into a power dive, straight for the source of the noise. But just before he reached the hall from where the sounds were emanating, he pulled up and hovered outside, and peered through a stained-glass window. It was Prince Blueblood, who was cowering on the ground. In front of him was Regal Crescent.

"Well, look at you. Pathetic, sniveling, cowering," chuckled the black unicorn. "However… you somewhat remind me of James. Tell you what, let's pretend you're him, and I will kill you the way I've always imagined killing him, hmmm?"

Slowly, Regal Crescent raised a hoof, and conjured a long dagger, with its tip glowing red.

Flaming Star blinked. Then after a moment, he said to himself, "Not today." With that, he smashed through the window and collided head-first with Regal Crescent. Flaming Star's horn drove deep into his shoulder. Regal Crescent screamed again and yanked his shoulder away and clasped a hoof over the deep wound. He staggered backwards and then disappeared with a flash; he had teleported away. Flaming Star turned to help Prince Blueblood up.

"Y-y-you saved my life," stuttered Prince Blueblood.

Flaming Star looked the prince straight in the eyes and said, "You said you didn't need friends, and so in the hour of need, you were alone. However, whether you like it or not, you have a friend now."

Without another word, Flaming Star turned around and took to the air. Prince Blueblood sat, staring at his hoofs, thinking about what the golden alicorn had just said. Was this what it was like to have friends? Could he have friends? Maybe…

Flaming Star rose high above Canterlot Castle as he continued to look for a sign of Regal Crescent.

"He can't have gone far," he muttered as his sharp eyes scoured the area. Suddenly a sixth sense triggered in his head and he ducked. A dagger flew over his head. Whirling, Flaming Star turned to face Regal Crescent, who was directly behind him.

Seeing that the element of surprise was gone, the black unicorn dashed forwards and slammed into Flaming Star, the two spiraled down together and smashed into two towers before exploding into the Canterlot gardens. The two got up and stood a few yards from each other, breathing heavily. Suddenly, Discord appeared.

"Well, well, well. It's Regal Crescent? The coltfriend of Lulu! Long time no see! Oh... What do we have here?"

Flaming Star waved his hoof at Discord. "Not now, Discordious," he said urgently, "go and find princess Cadence and Sunset! I'll handle this!"

Discord blinked, and then realized the situation. He nodded and disappeared without a word.

Regal Crescent took a shaking breath and was about to renew his attacks when Flaming Star shouted, "Stop Dathan! Stop!"

There was a long pause. Then Flaming Star spoke, "Why are you doing this? Look around you! This was not what the Paradox wanted!"

Regal Crescent looked around, but only grinned voraciously. "It doesn't matter what the Paradox wants. He has no ability to stop what he started!"

Flaming Star shook his head. "It doesn't matter if he can control anything or not," he replied, "We were given this power under the solemn oath that we were to protect the multiverse to our very… last… breath. What are you doing now?"

Regal Crescent just laughed and said, "This is the era of anarchy, fool. Our words do not matter anymore. What's even more, we gave all truly gave up the right to called heroes after the destruction of the Barbiserunt dimension."

Flaming Star winced as he remembered that specific incident. He, Regal Crescent, and another traveler named Ada Adalbarosdaughter worked together to rig the entire dimension so that when Legion's largest army, the Oblivion Multitude, were drawn into it, the three could bring the whole thing down on them. It worked perfectly. The death of that army marked the beginning of the end of the traveler-demon war. It was necessary, but broke just about every code in the traveler's rule book.

Flaming Star shook his head. "You are right, it was wrong. We shouldn't have done it, but then when Ada and I sought out the Paradox for forgiveness, he gave it! We were in the wrong, but we were repentant, what more could we do?"

Regal Crescent bared his teeth. "It doesn't matter if it was enough or not, James… I am no longer abiding by the Paradox's, or your, rules… All that matters is REVENGE!"

With that, Regal Crescent fired a blast of energy. Flaming Star spread his wings to dodge the attack, but he found that, while he was talking, Regal Crescent had used his powers to turn the ground beneath him into tar. Stuck, Flaming Star took the full blast in his stomach, and he spiraled backwards. He smashed into the wall and was temporarily stunned.

Chuckling, Regal Crescent approached the downed form of Flaming Star and conjured a red-glowing dagger. He raised high above his head and was about to stab down when a bolt of magic knocked him head-over-hoofs.

"You stay away from him!" shouted Twilight Sparkle as she and Shining Armor galloped onto the scene.

Regal Crescent recovered and smiled. With a flick of his head, he sent his powers into the floor, causing massive tentacles of earth to erupt from the ground and wrap themselves around Twilight. Shining Armor immediately freed her with a blast of magic, but a bolt of energy from Regal Crescent knocked him out, and more tentacles rose up to seize Twilight. She tried to teleport out, but it was to no avail. Regal Crescent levitated his dagger and aimed it at Twilight's eyes.

"What's this? A young alicorn trying to defend the firstborn against one of the most powerful travelers ever? This is beyond foolishness… in fact… is this love?"

With that, Regal Crescent hurled the dagger straight at Twilight's face. Suddenly, the dagger crumbled to dust, and Regal Crescent was blasted away in a tidal wave of earth. Flaming Star shot forward and smashed the tentacles surrounding Twilight. The two stood side-by-side, facing Regal Crescent, he only grinned.

"Well, I suppose we'll just have to go to round three, won't we?" Regal Crescent said as he speedily recovered.

Flaming Star shook his head. "No, it's over. We were really just here to stall you."

Suddenly and explosion and earth blasted behind Regal Crescent as Sunset Shadow arrived in spectacular style.

Regal Crescent recognized Joseph Torrus almost immediately.

"Well, if it isn't the 'madman of the mulitverse!' So nice of you to… drop by."

Sunset straightened up, and glared at Regal Crescent. "I'm not a madman anymore. I am a hero."

Regal Crescent opened his mouth to laugh, and then stopped. Luna, Celestia, and Cadence arrived.

"Regal… Crescent?" said Luna, her eyes wide with shock.

Regal Crescent stumbled backwards. "Luna? No… no… NO NO NO NO NO!"

Eyes wide with horror, Regal Crescent stopped moving and stood stock-still. So shocked was he, that Flaming Star simply trotted up, drew back a hoof, and smacked him across the head, knocking him unconscious immediately.

Sunset then moved up and closed his eyes. Concentrating hard, he extended his hoofs towards the prone form of the downed black unicorn. There was a minute-long pause, and then, suddenly, a massive blast of golden energy erupted from Sunset. The chains of truth. They wrapped around Regal Crescent, binding him tight. Dathan Enosson, mercenary and traitor, was secure.

Giving out a huge sigh of relief, Flaming Star nodded to Sunset. "I really wish you could teach me that," he said.

Sunset winked. "It's a gift."

Flaming Star returned the wink, and then walked up to Twilight. "Thanks for saving my life." He said.

She blushed and gave him a huge smile. "I was only returning the favor."

The two slowly sat down, hoofs-in-hoofs. They just sat there, staring into each other's eyes. Sunset looked at them, and rolled his eyes. Shining Armor snorted, "What… are they just going to sit there?"

Cadence smiled and put a hoof on his shoulder. "It's what we used to do."

Shining Armor rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah."

Spike wrinkled his nose and snorted. "It's still really weird. Can someone break it up?"

Sunset walked up to Flaming Star and Twilight, and began to pull faces at Flaming Star over Twilight's shoulder. Neither of them noticed. After a while, Sunset gave up and walked up to Celestia, who was smiling, almost dreamily, at the two.

"Well… all this has made me hungry," He said, "I'm going to go home to Ponyville. I think I'll go home, make a salad, and give Fluttershy some cuddles. All good? Smiles all around? Cool. I'm out."

The only one who wasn't happy was Luna. She stood over the unconscious form of Regal Crescent, shaking uncontrollably with grief.

* * *

**IMPORTANT NOTE: Hey everypony! After a bit of thought, I decided that I could use a few more good dimensional travelers. So here is what I am going to do: I will let you guys pitch me a few ideas! Either via review or by PM, send me a name, age, sex, species (human, pony, etc.), physical features, personality, preferred powers, combat orientation (do they fight aggressively, passively, etc.), backstory (if you have a lengthy one, please PM it to me) and wether or not you want them to stay in pony form and adopt a pony name if they go to the MLP dimension. This is really a first-come-first-serve situation, by the way. Have fun!**


	21. Chapter 21 - Reformation

_Dimension: My Little Pony_

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Canterlot Castle_

_Time: Five days after the arrival of Flaming Star_

Regal Crescent opened his eyes and sat up. He rubbed his eyes groggily and groaned. What had just happened? Then he remembered. Snarling, he got up and tried to move forward. He was locked in place by chains. At first he laughed. Chains? No one could bind him. He surged forward with enough force to capsize a beached aircraft carrier… nothing happened. Then Regal Crescent noticed something unique about the chains: they were glowing. He was trapped in the grip of the chains of truth. They were absolute; there was nothing he could do to break them. Slowly, he sat down. Suddenly, he became aware of a presence watching, and he glared up through the bars of his jail… it was Princess Luna. His eyes grew wide when he saw her tear-streaked eyes. He quickly got up and stumbled backwards, trying to put as much distance as possible between her and himself.

"L-Luna?" he gasped. "How is this possible?"

A tear rolled down Luna's face. "Why? Why have you done these things?"

Regal Crescent felt a lump in his throat. After a pause, he sighed. "I lost my way. I wanted to kill James so bad that… that I disregarded all else. Did… did I kill anypony?"

Luna shook her head. "Thankfully not," she replied, "there was damage, but no death."

Regal Crescent sighed again, but more out of relief than out of terror this time. "That is good."

There was a long pause. Finally, Regal Crescent spoke. "Luna," he said, "I have spent eons thinking of you…"

Luna interrupted. "Eons? Where were you then? Do you not think I waited eons for you as well? Where were you?"

Regal Crescent bowed his head. "I couldn't. I was no longer a traveler, I was a mercenary. A lowly criminal, willing to slit the throat of any comrade for power and fame… I think this is not the pony you had been waiting for."

Luna sat down and faced Regal Crescent. After another moment of silence, she said, "It was not. But how could I know? You left, and you never let me know of your whereabouts. You broke my heart."

Regal Crescent continued to look at the ground. "I'm sorry."

Luna got up and pointedly turned around. "You didn't seem to be sorry as you tried to kill Flaming Star and Twilight," she said as she walked away.

Regal Crescent watched as she walked away. As the door closed, his head drooped low to the ground. She was right. He had shown no remorse as he tried to kill Flaming Star, no control as he battled it out with his sworn enemy. Sworn enemy? How did it come to be like that?

Regal Crescent looked up as the door to the prison swung open again. This time, Flaming Star walked in. Regal Crescent felt a wave of multiple emotions wash over him. Hate, fear, remorse, and confusion. Flaming Star stood over Regal Crescent for a moment, looking down upon the feared mercenary, and then sat down quietly facing him.

"Hey," he said, "How are you doing Dathan?"

Regal Crescent averted his gaze.

Flaming Star persisted. "Dathan… Regal Crescent, why are you doing this to yourself? How did it get to be like this? I never harmed you; I never mocked your father. I gave you no reason for you to hate me. Why?"

Regal Crescent then spoke, slowly. "You know why?" he said, "Despite your best intentions, there was always something that gave me a reason to hate you: you. Your very existence irked me. I never wanted to be second; I wanted to be first, or, at least, my father to be first. I wanted Enos and his sons to have power, not you. I wanted power, but I was never fully given it. It was like being led to water, but not being allowed to drink. It was agonizing. I wanted to have it all."

Flaming Star narrowed his eyes and said, "And did you get it? No. I gave you nothing but acceptance, and you threw it back in my face. For six thousand years I tolerated you, and you did nothing for me but go rogue. So tell me right now, did your hate and envy win you anything?"

Regal Crescent shook as he suppressed his grief and his rage. Slowly, he said, "NO. It did not."

Flaming Star nodded, his face still a frown. "Yes, it didn't. You were at the top, but look at you now: groveling in the dust, nothing but a hated mercenary. And now that you have accepted a job from Legion, you will now never be even accepted back into the filthy taverns and the dilapidated strongholds of the traveler traitors. You have nothing."

A pause… "I know, Flaming Star."

Flaming Star leaned in close to the bars, his face now kind. "Then come back, nephew, come back to the light. Sunset has done far worse than you, but he came back. What say you?"

There was an agonizingly long pause… then, "I am sorry, Flaming Star. I am sorry."

Flaming Star smiled. He got up and said, "Then you have won yourself a friend. Goodbye nephew, I will come by to see you again."

As he walked away, Regal Crescent called out, "How long will I be kept here, uncle?"

Flaming Star paused, turned around and said, "I do not know. That is for princess Celestia and princess Luna to decide. You trashed their castle, and gave at least two hundred guards terrible headaches. I will see what I can do though… nephew."

Flaming Star then turned around and exited the jail; leaving Regal Crescent with nothing but the chains of truth, and his thoughts of ruin and self-hate. Everything Flaming Star had said was true. He was lower than nothing. He had spent every moment, every resource, on his hunt for revenge, and now all he found was emptiness. Was this the satisfaction that awaited him? Flaming Star was nothing that he had convinced himself to believe; Flaming Star wasn't cruel or evil, he was just a being looking for meaning in the endless strife of existence. Regal Crescent cursed himself for a fool: he had let it all pass on by; he had let his life slip away for a prize that turned out to be as empty as a black hole. All his life he had spent hating Flaming Star, and now he found out… it had all been a lie.

* * *

_Dimension: The Inferno_

_Planet: The Inferno_

_Specific Location: The Inferno_

_Time: Eternity_

Legion opened his eyes. He looked around as his senses returned; he had been unconscious as a vision had permeated his mind. The vision had commanded him to perform a very unique part of a grand plan that even Legion had not dreamed of preforming. But could he be a part of something so vile? Even as a demon, the despicableness of the creature that had presented the scheme gave him pause. Shaking his head, Legion returned to breathing in the winds of time and space, immediately becoming aware of the happenings of the multiverse. Legion blinked, Dathan Enosson had failed. He had not been expecting that, but, perhaps, it was not completely unexpected.

"Hate and revenge can be a powerful motivator," Legion muttered, "but sometimes even it cannot overcome pure skill, or the power of love."

There was a pause as Legion considered the plan once again… and decided to play his part.

"I suppose, the My Little Pony universe has gone a little too long without a visit from a demon," said Legion. "Abbadon was a fool, perhaps I can dislodge the travelers from their little stronghold. If not… well… it does not even matter."

With that, Legion shot upwards with such power that the whole circle shook with violent tremors. As he shot through the air, Legion chuckled. "I am the many, the multitude, the army. I am everywhere, and I am nowhere. I am the reaper, the reapers… I am nothing, I am everything, and I am death."

* * *

_Dimension: My Little Pony_

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Canterlot Gardens_

_Time: Six days after the arrival of Flaming Star_

Sunset and Fluttershy sat in the Canterlot gardens, overlooking a beautiful sunrise.

"Don't you wish these moments lasted forever?" sighed Fluttershy dreamily as she pressed her cheek against Sunset's.

Sunset sighed. "I sure do. These are moments are precious. We must savor each one."

Fluttershy lay down on her back and began to look at the red-streaked clouds. Quickly Sunset joined her.

With that, Sunset reached over and patted Fluttershy's stomach. "How's the baby doing?" he said.

Fluttershy smiled. "She's fine. I am just so excited!"

Sunset nodded. "So am I."

The two were suddenly joined by Flaming Star and Twilight. Sunset looked up and closed his eyes. "Oh no," he said out loud, "I hope you haven't come here to crash our wonderful peace and quiet, firstborn."

Flaming Star plopped himself down next to Sunset, and was joined by Twilight.

"Nope," he said, "nothing of the sort. We're here to join you."

Sunset snorted. "You? Look at clouds? Since when did Abimael 'James' Sethson, the firstborn take time to look at clouds? Did Regal Crescent knock you on the head sometime during the battle?"

Twilight answered, "No, he's fine. I just suggested that he spend more time watching the world around him, make each moment linger a little longer."

Flaming Star nodded, "Yep. So that's what we're going to do."

Sunset gave Flaming Star a side-long glance. "What are we going to do about Regal Crescent?" he said.

Flaming Star continued looking up at the sky as he replied, "We are going to let him go. That poor pony has literally nothing left. From what I can tell, Luna has turned her back on him. If that is the case then Regal Crescent is all alone. He is a traitor to his cause, he took a job from a demon so he will not be accepted back into the mercenary cartel, and he's feared here. Sooooo… I think he could use a little good luck… and some friends."

"But Flaming Star," interjected Twilight, "he tried to kill you… and me!"

Flaming Star lightly bumped her shoulder as he replied, "Of course he did! But that doesn't mean we shouldn't try to be friends with him… right?"

Twilight gave him a huge smile. "The magic of friendship," she agreed.

Abruptly, they were joined by Discord.

"Oooh, what do we have here? Four ponies enjoying a romantic sunrise with their… er, best friends?"

Sunset waved his hoof in the air. "Yeah, yeah, whatever," he said, "If you think teasing me will work, forget it. I'm married, so get over it. It doesn't work that way anymore."

Discord rolled his eyes as he levitated over them. "But of course. Right now my target is that handsome golden stallion with that gorgeous purple mare. What a pair! I actually feel a song coming on!"

Twilight rolled her eyes and said, "Do whatever you want, Discord. I am perfectly happy right here."

Discord grinned. "All the more reason for me to start a song."

"That's enough, Discord," said Celestia as she entered the garden. Flaming Star rolled over and got up.

"Well," he said, "what's the verdict on Regal Crescent?"

Celestia beckoned to Luna, who slowly walked up. "We've decided… we've decided to let Regal Crescent go," Luna said, "he really has nothing left."

Sunset too rolled over and got up. "Really? Are you sure this is wise?"

Flaming Star snorted, "Probably not, but I'll keep an eye on him."

Luna looked down at her hoofs and said, "So will I. I- I want to believe he's going back to his old ways…"

Sunset nodded vigorously, "That is good. We have to show him trust. Right now, he's probably devastated, like I was when I first came here. He needs a little friendship right now."

Celestia nodded. "He most probably does. Sunset, you invoked the chains upon him, can you eliminate them as well?"

Sunset nodded and trotted off to the jail. He was quickly followed by Fluttershy, Flaming Star, Twilight, Celestia, and Luna. Discord just floated there, watching them go. He then pulled a face and flashed out of existence.

Regal Crescent looked up as the door to the jail opened. His head drooped again as Sunset strolled in.

"Well, Joseph, what do you want?"

"I'm here to set you free, Dathan."

Regal Crescent looked up in surprise. "Why? What guarantee do you have that I won't attack you! I'm evil! I know I am!"

Sunset peered close at Regal Crescent as he said, "And that is the first sign of a changing heart. We may not trust you just yet, Regal Crescent, but that doesn't mean we don't care for you."

With that, Sunset raised a hoof and preformed a downward slashing movement, with that, the chains stopped glowing and crumbled to nothing. Regal Crescent shakily stood up, and then sat down.

"I- I don't think I can do it Joseph." He said, "I mean, what if I see James and go all haywire? I've hated him for such a long time now…"

Sunset simply shook his head. "You've seen who he truly is, Dathan," he said, "I think all your years of festering your hate has blown your reasons for revenge out of proportion. I really don't think you want to hurt Flaming Star now."

Regal Crescent began to shake uncontrollably with grief. "I can't do it Joseph," he sobbed, "I can't go out there. Luna's out there. What am I to say? I turned my back on her, took her for granted… and now she has done the same to me."

Sunset opened the door to Regal Crescent's cell and walked in. He then placed a hoof on his shoulder. "Dathan, listen," he said quietly, "I understand that you have been compromised, but you must embrace it! I too felt completely disoriented when I first felt my black heart melt, but you must learn to cope with it. All you need now is a little bit of forgiveness… and some friendship."

Regal Crescent stopped shaking and straightened up. He nodded, "You are right, Joseph. I must get a hold of myself. If I am to put things to right, I must be in control of my faculties."

Sunset nodded as he led him out of the prison. "That you must. But remember, we are watching you."

Regal Crescent nodded, "I expected no less. And I appreciate it; I will undoubtedly need the help."

The courtyard was empty, all the workers were still asleep, the only pony outside was Flaming Star, who stood in the epicenter of the landscape. He quickly trotted up to greet the two.

"The rest have dispersed at my request," explained Flaming Star, "I want to talk to Regal Crescent."

Sunset nodded. "Where's my wife?" he said.

Flaming Star flicked his head to the left. "Over there, in the throne room."

Sunset nodded and quickly cantered off, leaving Flaming Star and Regal Crescent alone.

Flaming Star looked around. "Well," he said, "It's empty, I am off-guard, don't you feel an urge to attack me?"

Regal Crescent swayed in place for a moment. He then shook his head and said, "That purple pony… what is her name?"

Flaming Star raised his eyebrows and replied, "Her name is princess Twilight Sparkle."

Regal Crescent nodded. "She saved your life. Was it love?"

Flaming Star looked Regal Crescent straight in the eyes, and blazed through his soul. However, all he found was fear, and confusion… the black and red pony was terrified.

After a moment, Flaming Star simply asked a different question, "Regal Crescent, what are you going to do?"

Regal Crescent sighed. "I really don't know. I suppose I'll have to stay here, considering the fact that I have no other place to go."

Flaming Star nodded. "I think that would be a good idea. You aren't exactly the most welcomed pony in Equestria right now, but at least you have friends."

"Really? Who?" Regal Crescent asked.

"Me." Said Flaming Star simply. He then turned around and walked away.

Regal Crescent just stood there, staring off into the distance, thinking about what had just happened. It was true that he had nothing, but maybe… maybe he could have friends.

Abruptly a sixth sense alerted him that he was being watched from behind, so Regal Crescent slowly turned around. Princess Luna was standing a little ways off, watching him, with pain in her eyes.

Regal Crescent took a shaking breath, and started to approach her.

* * *

**Note: Sorry if this one seems a little boring! This one is really just a placeholder, and I made it in a hurry! Remember I am still looking for dimensional traveler suggestions! And don't forget to review! As I always say, I love reviews!**


	22. Chapter 22 - True Forgiveness

_Dimension: My Little Pony_

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Canterlot Castle_

_Time: Six days after the arrival of Flaming Star_

Regal Crescent looked at Luna straight in the eyes. "Luna… I'm so sorry."

Luna broke her gaze and looked away. "How do I know you're sorry? How do I know you won't simply work to earn my trust again, and then disappear altogether once more?"

Regal Crescent sat down. "Look, Luna, I have no place to go! I'm hated or unwelcome in every know dimension in this multiverse!"

Luna continued to look away. "That doesn't change anything."

"Even if it doesn't change anything," replied Regal Crescent, "I want you to know that I am sorry."

Luna turned around and looked at Regal Crescent, tears shimmering in her eyes. "I- I will have to think about your apology."

With that, Luna spread her wings and flew away. Regal Crescent sighed. With that, he stood up and walked away. He wandered the courtyard for a bit, watching as the sun slowly climbed higher and higher. Soon, worker ponies began to file in to continue construction. Seeing this, Regal Crescent quickly ducked into a nearby hallway to avoid detection. He peeked around the corner as he watched the ponies repair the damage that he had sown.

"So, what are we looking at?" A voice came out from behind him.

Regal Crescent gave a gasp of surprise and whirled around, one of his front hoofs crackling with energy. It was Discord.

"Well, you certainly have a jumpy disposition, not unlike Joseph Torrus, or as we like to call him, Sunset Shadow, when he first came here." Discord said as distastefully pushed Regal Crescents hoof out of his face.

Regal Crescent squinted at Discord for a moment, then said, "Oh, you're Discordious."

Discord bowed elegantly. "At your service. I must say, as a chaos weaver myself, I overheard Lulu's tales of woe more than once about you, but I never expected the famed Dathan Enosson to be the perpetrator. My, my, the shame."

Regal Crescent turned around. "I felt for sure that I would return. I was positive that after the harmony tree was planted, I could come back and be with the moon princess… I was wrong. After the harmony units were placed, demons began to show up, and we fought them. Then the demon-traveler war… then my rivalry with Abimael… then my betrayal. Next thing I knew, I was no long fit to even come crawling back."

Discord stroked his chin with a paw as he said, "Well… that was a sob story if I ever heard one! Nevertheless, you really shouldn't be too hard on yourself… well, maybe you should, but anyway… Sunset himself was in quite a pickle when he came here, but he managed to get out of it! And look at him now! Happy, married, is going to have a family… all that good stuff!"

Regal Crescent looked at Discord, "What? Joseph Torrus is married?"

Discord nodded. "Oh, he is; to the beautiful young Pegasus, and my personal friend, Fluttershy, the harmony bearer of kindness."

Regal Crescent blinked. "I think I will go to Joseph… er, Sunset and talk to him about my dilemma, perhaps he can give me a little insight."

Discord grinned, "Oh, I'm sure he would be more than helpful. Oh, and do stay out of trouble while you're here, I really don't want any competition in the chaos department."

Regal Crescent shook his head. "I have no intention of wreaking any more havoc, Discordious," he replied, "Where do you think Sunset is?"

Discord flashed out and flashing in again next to Regal Crescent. He conjured up a map and said, "Well… I don't know… He and Fluttershy are probably in Canterlot gardens. Those two love to relax there. Take a right… then take a left… no, take a left and then a right… no, I mean…"

Regal Crescent shook his head again and teleported away. Discord rolled his eyes. "My, my, even for an old pony he certainly has an impatient disposition. Beings these days…"

Fluttershy and Sunset were cuddling on a bench in the Canterlot gardens when Regal Crescent teleported into their midst. Fluttershy gave a little yelp and hid slightly behind Sunset at the sight of the black and red unicorn. Sunset simply blinked. "Well… Regal Crescent, what can I do for you?"

Regal Crescent slowly moved up to them and sat down on the bench next to Sunset. "I need your help," he said.

Sunset patted Fluttershy's hoof, and she settled next to him again. He then looked at Regal Crescent with raised eyebrows. "You need… my help. With what?"

Regal Crescent put his head in his hoofs as he replied, "I need help with Luna. How can I make her understand that I am repentant? I am truly sorry for what I have done! You're married, Sunset, can't you tell me what to do?"

Sunset stroked his chin for a moment as he thought. He then said, "I don't know, your situation is ever so slightly different than mine when I first came to Equestria. I didn't have a bad legacy when I arrived, and I didn't immediately attempt to blow up its capital. I'm not sure."

Regal Crescent groaned, "I don't know what to do! Help me!"

Fluttershy then spoke. "Um… excuse me? I might have something to say… If Princess Luna is hurt by your betrayal so many years ago, she is probably terrified that it will happen again. You need to show her a little kindness, and maybe earn her trust back. If you truly are sorry, then she will never have to worry about you leaving her again."

Sunset nodded in agreement. "Yes, show her that you care! I do not know how long it will take for you to fix her broken heart, but perhaps in the meantime you can show her that you care once more."

Regal Crescent gave a shaking sigh, "I am sooooo dead. Thank you anyway Fluttershy and Sunset, I will have to think about what you two have said."

With that, he teleported away, leaving the two alone once again. Sunset looked at Fluttershy. "I really hope he gets everything settled," he said, "I would hate to have to share a dimension with an extremely depressed dimensional traveler."

Fluttershy rested her head on his shoulder as she replied, "I am sure everything will be alright…"

Regal Crescent teleported to the top spire of Canterlot. On the very tip of the tower, he sat, watching the entire land as everypony went about their daily lives. He blinked… everything was so peaceful. In the serenity of the morning air, Regal Crescent thought about what everyone had talked to him about. If he wanted to gain Luna's trust back, he would have to show that he changed. But how? There was no trial, no great calamity that he could prove himself in battle. He groaned, fighting billions of demons was much easier than trying to win Luna's love back… if it was even possible. He continued to gaze across the land as he resided on those thoughts, and memories of the old days began to flood in. He remembered the first time he had met Luna and Celestia as fillies, and how he had asked if he could play with them. The three pranced through the meadows, enjoying the wonderful summer days. He remembered playing long games of hide-and-seek with them, as he searched thoroughly for a place to plant the harmony tree. He remembered bringing Luna a bouquet of flowers, and how she had given him the first and greatest hug of his life. He remembered spending long nights with her under the light of her moon, talking about how beautiful the night was in all its glory. He remembered kissing her, and telling her that he would forever love her. And… he remembered leaving in a hurry, trying to quickly get the consent of Paradox to confirm the location and plant the harmony tree so that he could be with Luna. He remembered his horror as a demon raid struck multiple dimensions, forcing him and the dozen other dimensional travelers to fight back, and leaver their pasts behind.

Regal Crescent felt a lump in his throat as he looked down at his hoofs. One thing had led to another, and now he was a rogue, a loner, with no place to go. He looked up, and he noticed Flaming Star and Twilight sitting on a balcony talking.

He couldn't hear what they were saying, but it was obvious by the way they sat together that they really enjoyed each other's company. He had been like that once as well. Regal Crescent continued to watch them as they stopped talking and simply sat there, enjoying each other's company. They continued sitting, and Regal Crescent continued watching. As he did, a few tears slid down his face. Slowly, Regal Crescent turned his back on them and watched the sky. He simply sat there. Minutes passed by, then hours… the sun rose over the hills, sailed through its apex, and began to slowly descend in the west. Still Regal Crescent sat there, thinking of all the things that he could say to Luna if he had the chance. However, no matter the time he went over his ideas, he couldn't think of anything he could say. He wanted her back, but there was no way he truly deserved her. The sun slid through the other half of its cycle and began to fall behind the west hills. It was all a blur for Regal Crescent, who was seven thousand years old. Soon the sun's light died over the land of Equestria, and so did Regal Crescent's hope for redemption. Perhaps he could travel to Dodge Junction, or maybe some other random location where he could live out his days in misery. However, he quickly pulled himself out of his self-pitying thoughts for a moment as the moon began to rise. It had always been a wondrous sight for him. The sun was grand, no doubt, but it was ferocious and precarious in its power. The moon had always been meek, silent, and beautiful, reflecting the sun's violent bolts of light in a calm aura of white and blue light…

Suddenly, Luna landed next to him. Regal Crescent nearly feinted. He quickly recovered and shot up and began to speak faster than Pinkie Pie during a self-introductory speech. "Luna! I'm sorry! I understand that you don't trust me, heck, I wouldn't trust myself, but I need you to understand that-"

Luna interrupted. "I understand, Regal Crescent."

Regal Crescent looked at her incredulously, "You… what?"

Luna sat down next to him and said, "I understand that you are sorry, and I accept your apology."

Regal Crescent couldn't believe his ears. Was he dreaming? Impossible. "I… I know that you have every right to ignore me and never see me again," he stuttered, "but… why?"

Luna sighed, "I could not stay angry for long. Seeing you return to me, humble, was like when you first gave flowers… I was overjoyed. I was hurt, but I felt happiness for your return the likes of which I have not felt since my return to Equestria."

Regal Crescent cocked his head to one side and said, "Your… return?"

Luna nodded. "That is the main that I felt truly that you deserved a place to return in my heart. I too went astray, driven by jealousy and envy. I wanted my night to be predominating, to be worshipped, but it was not the way of harmony. So I tried to take it by force, and I tried to kill my sister. I failed and was banished to the moon for a thousand years. It was during that time that I understood my errors, and when I returned, and the harmony bearers returned me to my right mind… I asked for forgiveness, and I was forgiven. I have done no better than you, and I was forgiven, you deserve that forgiveness as well."

With that, the two hugged, kissed, and tears were shed.

"I love you Luna," whispered Regal Crescent as they continued hugging.

"I love you too, Regal Crescent."

* * *

_Dimension: My Little Pony_

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Equestia Earth's Stratosphere_

_Time: Seven days after the arrival of Flaming Star_

Legion glanced around as he levitated in the stratosphere of Eqeustria Earth. His gaze raked the landscape as he used his vast, twisted knowledge to pinpoint all the different locations. The specific position of the harmony tree was somehow cloaked from his vision, but he could see Manehattan, Fillydelphia, Vanhoover, Canterlot, and Ponyville. He tapped his masked helmet as he thought about the best place to attack. Canterlot, he knew, was undoubtedly the location of the sun and moon sisters, and the capital of the whole of Equestria, but it was not the place he wanted to start. Canterlot had already been subject to a number of attacks: first from a squadron of demon warriors, then from Dathan Enosson. The place, he could see, was now under the protection of a shield, and there were guards patrolling every corner of it. What's more, Legion could see Pegasus taking off and landing from Cloudsdale, and scouting every corner of the land. These scouts were not really an issue, he mused, but he must strike at a place where he could dislodge the travelers, wherever they may be, and put them at a disadvantage.

His eyes fell on Ponyville. That was it; that was the place to start. It was the perfect location. It was open, and had a lot of avenues for an ambush, but once he controlled the area, he could easily fend off attackers from any location. With that, Legion rocketed towards Ponyville.

* * *

_Dimension: My Little Pony_

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Ponyville_

_Time: Seven days after the arrival of Flaming Star_

Rarity trotted through town as the sun slowly rose past the east hills on her way to see Pinkie Pie. Pinkie was planning a party, and she needed a bit of Rarity's help with the costumes. Rarity frowned, she preferred making things that were more elegant, but if it was for a friend...

Suddenly, Rainbow Dash shot out of the sky and landed next to her.

"Oh, my, hello Rainbow Dash," said Rarity, "What brings you here?"

Rainbow Dash kept pace, "I'm so bored! Sunset, Flaming Star, Twilight, and Fluttershy are gone, and there is no one really to do stuff with!"

Rarity sighed, "Well, they will be back soon. They were needed in Canterlot after all those calamities going on. And if you are thinking of asking me to spend time with you, I am afraid it will have to wait. I have a meeting with Pinkie Pie to discuss some costumes."

Rainbow Dash levitated slightly above the ground and rolled her eyes, "Where has all the action gone?"

Rarity pulled a face, "If I recall correctly, the last time we had some 'action,' we were all fairly much scared witless. I don't think we need anymore of that trouble here."

Rainbow sighed as she remembered the terrible attack on Ponyville. "Yeah, I suppose you're right. But I still need something to do!"

Rarity shook her head. "There's nothing for you here, Rainbow Dash," she said, "Why don't you go find one of your Pegasus friends?"

Rainbow rolled her eyes, "Yeah, yeah. Alright! I'm going!"

Suddenly the two bumped into Applejack and Pinkie, who were both staring at the sky.

"Well," said Rarity, "What are you two doing out here?"

Applejack, not taking her eyes off the sky said, "Well, I was here to get some cupcakes from Sugar Cube corner, and met Pinkie Pie looking at the sky."

Rainbow blinked. She then said, "Looking at the sky? Pinkie?"

Pinkie too didn't take her eyes blue atmosphere. "Ooooohhh... Look! The thingy is getting bigger!"

Rarity and Rainbow joined her in sky-gazing. There was a small blot over the sun that was slowly getting bigger. Soon its size began to increase at an accelerated rate, and Rainbow Dash and Rarity realized what was happening.

"Oh no," Rainbow actually whimpered.

"DEMON ATTACK! EVERYPONY DUCK!" Screamed Rarity.

"Rarity! That doesn't look anything like a duck!" interjected Pinkie Pie.

"You always say that!" exclaimed Applejack as she tackled Pinkie and all four of them hit the dirt.

Legion shrieked overhead and landed in town square with an explosion that triggered planet-wide tremors.

As the smoke cleared, Applejack, with her ears flat against her skull, whispered to Rainbow, "Rainbow! Get help!"

Rainbow Dash zoomed off in the direction of Canterlot castle. The smoke cleared to reveal a massive crater where the gazebo once stood. In the crater stood Legion.

* * *

**Note: Oooooh! The suspense! Sorry guys, I think I'm out for the week, I have stuff I need to do! Nevertheless, I will see if I can add at least one chapter during the weekend. Don't forget to R&R! And if you guys don't remember what the second "R" stands for, it means REVIEW! I love reviews!**


	23. Chapter 23 - Legion

_Dimension: My Little Pony_

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Canterlot Gardens_

_Time: Seven days after the arrival of Flaming Star_

Flaming Star opened his eyes and looked around. He was outside. His memories returned as he remembered going out to enjoy the night sky. Looking to his left, his eyes fell on Twilight, who was peacefully sleeping next to him. He was about to go back to sleep when Sunset trotted in with Fluttershy. Flaming Star immediately attempted to fake sleep, but Sunset cantered up and began to poke him in the chest.

"Nice try, firstborn. I need to talk to you."

Flaming Star groaned. "Can't this wait until some other time? Twilight is still asleep!"

Twilight then spoke, "Oh, I'm awake; I've just been enjoying your company and the sunlight."

Flaming Star groaned and rolled over. He looked up. "Well?"

Sunset smiled. "Regal Crescent has gotten back together with Princess Luna, all is well."

Flaming Star rolled back over and closed his eyes. "Great. Yay. Can I go back to sleep?"

Twilight on the other hand, got up and said, "That's wonderful! Has Regal Crescent really changed?"

Sunset frowned. "I think so. From my time talking with him, I think he's just scared now. It's like he lost the only thing that protected him from the outside world, and now he is exposed like a nerve. But I think he's getting better."

With that, Regal Crescent and Luna trotted in. Flaming Star groaned loudly, "Why don't we just invite all of Equestria in here? I'm sure it would increase my ability to sleep tenfold."

Regal Crescent smiled, the first time in a long time. "I understand, firstborn," he said, "I just wanted you to know that I am really grateful for the advice you gave me yesterday."

Flaming Star got up. "No problem. So, since I'm up, what's next?"

Suddenly Rainbow Dash landed in their midst.

She was breathing hard.

"Sunset!" she yelled, "Demons! In Ponyville!"

Sunset's eyes widened in horror. Flaming Star raced over, and Regal Crescent groaned.

"It's Legion, isn't it?" the black unicorn sighed.

Rainbow Dash, still gasping in breaths said, "I don't know. He's huge! Covered in armor!"

Flaming Star nodded. "It's Legion. Regal Crescent, Sunset, on me. We need to take him out before anypony is killed."

With that, the three began to take to the air, suddenly, Luna called out, "No! Regal Crescent!"

Regal Crescent looked at Flaming Star, who nodded. He went back as Sunset and Flaming Star were joined by Twilight, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy.

"What if something happens to you?" said Luna, her eyes wide with terror.

Regal Crescent shook his head. "Nothing will probably happen to me, my love. And even if something did, I will always be with you. In here." He covered his heart. With that, he turned around and said, "Get Princess Celestia, we will need you two."

With that, Sunset, Flaming Star, Regal Crescent, Rainbow Dash, Twilight, and Fluttershy began to fly away. The group was suddenly enveloped in a bubble of energy, that blasted off in the direction of Ponyville at three times the speed of sound.

A single tear fell from Luna's eyes. She turned around and galloped into Canterlot to find her sister.

Sunset bit his lip until it bled as he saw his beloved home, Ponyville, in flames. Even from the great distance, they could see Legion in the town square. He was simply standing there, tossing off bolts of demonic energy now and then. Suddenly, he spotted the group, despite the lengths that separated them, and fired a stream of energy. Flaming Star, who was steering the bubble of energy, veered off and dodged the blast. Soon they were caught in a hail of energy bolts

"I can't keep dodging them!" yelled Flaming Star as a bolt of demonic energy glanced off the bubble, causing it to buckle.

Regal Crescent nodded. "We're close enough now, everyone bail!"

Flaming Star dropped the shield and hurled a flare of light energy to block Legion's vision as they all scattered.

"Flaming Star! Regal Crescent!" yelled Sunset, "We need to attack Legion head-on! We need to keep his attention on us! Rainbow Dash! Grab Twilight and Fluttershy and find the rest of the harmony bearers! Wait until Celestia and Luna arrive!"

"Attack Legion head on?" yelled Regal Crescent, "That's suicide! He is pretty much the most powerful demon of all time!"

"People said that about Abbadon until I beat him!" replied Sunset, "We need to do this! For our friends!"

Regal Crescent seemed to fight with himself for a moment, and then he nodded. "For our friends," he confirmed.

Flaming Star then yelled, "Attack formation Delta Twelve! Spearhead!"

The three dove towards Legion. Legion rocketed up to meet them. When they collided, however, there was no explosion of energy, Legion simply blasted the three out of his way, sending them all spiraling into houses.

"Contact! Recover and regroup! Ten seconds!" roared Flaming Star as he jumped up from the crater he had created when he had crashed and took to the air.

Sunset and Regal Crescent both recovered and joined Flaming Star. They hovered in the air, facing Legion.

Legion stared at them, his face hidden by his face-plate. All they could see was his sinister red-glowing T-visor.

"Well, this is unique," laughed Legion, "I mean, you are a bunch of misfits if I ever saw one! Look what we have here: Joseph Torrus, a recuperating psychopath; Abimael Sethson, an obsessive, egotistic, moron; and Dathan Enosson, a traitorous wretch. You honestly think you three could take me down?"

Flaming Star grinned as he said, "Probably. For, from what I see, I see: Joseph Torrus, a strong, virtuous, knight; Abimael Sethson, an intelligent, yet humbled, warrior; and Dathan Enosson, a repentant, yet amazing, fighter."

Legion just floated there. After a pause he said, "That was really stupid."

Flaming Star rolled his eyes, "Whatever, I think it was an excellent comeback! Don't you think, Sunset?"

Sunset just looked at Flaming Star, "Are you honestly… he's our archenemy!"

Flaming Star rolled his eyes again and said, "Yeah, I know! But I can't let him get away with such an insult. Tell you what, Legion, let's rock-paper-scissors for whose statement was the best. Deal?"

Legion just looked at them. "Really? Wait… where's Enosson?"

Suddenly Legion reeled forward as a massive blast of energy knocked him forwards. Regal Crescent had snuck up behind him. Flaming Star had only been stalling.

Legion tried to right himself, but was blasted backwards by a dual attack from Flaming Star and Sunset. He flew backwards, only to be knocked forward again by Regal Crescent. Suddenly, Legion released a massive blast of energy in all direction, knocking the three askew. Legion righted himself and conjured his massive demonic blade. He rocketed towards Flaming Star. Flaming Star conjured a blade of his own and the two met in the middle. There was a clash, a concussive explosion, and a snap as Legion's sword shattered Flaming Star's. Legion reached forward to grab Flaming Star, but Flaming Star increased the temperature around his body to 2600 degrees Celsius. Legion quickly withdrew his hand and blasted Flaming Star backwards with a bolt of energy. Sunset caught Flaming Star as Legion turned to Regal Crescent and engaged him in a firefight. Regal Crescent was fast, but he was no match for the sheer overpowering might of Legion, who eventually connected with one of his demonic bolts and sent him spiraling away. Sunset and Flaming Star both rushed him, and released blasts of energy, but were met with a wave of demonic bolts. Sunset and Flaming Star teleported away from the attack and immediately began to engage Legion in combat. Legion simply waved away their attacks, and fired two blasts of well-timed demonic energy. They both hit their marks, stunning Flaming Star and Sunset. Legion lowered himself until he was hovering a few feet above the crater where had had initially landed. Suddenly he flickered, but it was only momentary, soon it stopped and Legion was still there, in all his horrific power.

Legion laughed, "You three are no match for me. In my time of imprisonment, I have only grown stronger! There is no chance that you three insignificant fools can take down the great Legion!"

Sunset quickly recovered and yelled, "Then it's a good thing that we're just not three!" Legion quickly turned to see Regal Crescent, leading Celestia, Luna, and the harmony bearers.

Legion laughed, "You don't have the elements of harmony, there is no way you could even touch me."

Celestia glared at the demon as she said, "We don't need the elements of Harmony to take you down, demon."

Legion raised his eyebrows. "You don't? Please, enlighten me, then, on how you plan to defeat me, Princess Celestia. Yes, I know who you are. I know who all of you are, and all of your greatest fears."

Twilight narrowed her eyes as she said, "Then you must know, Legion, that we have nothing to fear when we are together!"

Legion tapped his facemask. "Oh my, Princess Twilight, what a wonderful comeback. Maybe you could teach your coltfriend, Abimael, a thing or two about those skills of yours. Anyway, even if you have nothing to fear, it is not of my concern. I am not just fear, I am unkindness, I am disloyalty, I am dishonesty, I am greed, I am sorrow, I am the antimagic. There is nothing you can do against me."

Sunset simply raised an eyebrow. "Let's test that, shall we?"

With that, they all charged him. A massive blast of harmony energy erupted from Celestia, Luna, and the harmony bearers, and it became coupled with the chains of truth from Sunset, a massive blast of fire a billion times hotter than the center of the sun from Regal Crescent, and a bolt of energy powerful enough to shatter a planet from Flaming Star. They all hit Legion at the same time. A bright light filled every corner of the planet, and could be seen from outer space. The light was so bright, that everypony everywhere had to shut their eyes. As the light cleared, they opened their eyes… Legion was still standing. He looked at them. Suddenly he flickered again, and it looked like he was simply was blinking out of existence, but then it stopped, and Legion stood there... completely fine.

"That was impressive, but perhaps… just not enough."

Fluttershy feinted, and Rarity began to hyperventilate. Flaming Star's mouth literally dropped open. "But… but… but…"

Legion then said, almost in a terrified, haunted voice, "You just don't understand, do you? I am part of a greater plan, something so terrible that even I cannot bear it, but it is unstoppable, and thus by extension, I am unstoppable. This is not what we had planned for, but it is what will transpire. What I have witnessed… is unimaginable. I have kneeled at the throne of bones and rotting flesh, I have seen its king in all its hideous glory. I have seen the flayed and decaying hands of the Unknowns, as they cobble together the satanic machine, fueled by hate and the blood of innocents. The new plan… in all it malevolence… you cannot stop it. And if I could not stop it, than neither can you."

The entire team rose to fight him once more, but a massive blast knocked them all, except Regal Crescent who had somehow managed to dodge the attack, to the floor.

Legion smiled as he looked at the stunned forms of his adversaries. He then looked at Regal Crescent, "Just you and me, eh?"

Regal Crescent's eyes narrowed. "It doesn't matter what you have seen, Legion. Good will always prevail."

Legion roared with laughter, "What say you? Good will always prevail? I believe that a few days ago, I came to you with the heart of a female arch-demon and asked you to destroy Flaming Star, and you agreed! Don't tell me that you have somehow changed your mind and returned to these base sentimentalities. They are sordid… hoary… useless. What made you return to such things?"

Regal Crescent reached over and grasped Luna's hoof, who was still in a daze. "She did."

Legion snapped a finger. "Ah! Love! I should have known. Females do that, don't they?"

Regal Crescent nodded as he rose above the rest of his team to face Legion. "Yes, love. And if I had remembered my long-lost love when you came to me, I would have killed you where you stood when you approached me. But I lost my way… I have found it again now, and all the forgiveness that comes with it. No matter how terrible you are, or what 'plans' you claim to have seen, there is no way you or any other evil will prevail in the end. Good… will… always… WIN!"

With that, Regal Crescent, all alone, rushed Legion, who conjured up his blade again. Suddenly, Regal Crescent opened a portal to some dimension behind Legion. Then Regal Crescent rammed Legion, taking the blade full in his chest. Legion spiraled backwards and fell through the portal, however, just as half of him made it through, Regal Crescent closed the portal… cutting Legion in half. Legion was dead; half of him lay in the My Little Pony dimension, the other half in some other godforsaken land.

Regal Crescent gave a deep, retching gasp as he pulled the sword out of his chest. He stumbled and fell to the ground. "I probably should have thought of a better idea," he gasped.

Sunset was the first to recover. He rushed up to Regal Crescent and lifted his head. "Hang on there, Regal Crescent," he said, "We got you."

He was joined by Flaming Star, who began to pour healing energy into him… but the damage was too much.

"Eh, I think it's a little too late now, guys," whispered Regal Crescent, "I'm clocking out here… doesn't hurt too much."

Luna suddenly rushed over, she had recovered as well. "Oh… my Regal Crescent, what has he done to you?" Tears began to flow out of her eyes.

Regal Crescent tried to wink. "He gave me a win. At last… a win. I needed that."

Luna started to kiss him. "No! No! No! You can't leave me! You said you weren't going to leave me!"

Regal Crescent smiled and said, "I said I probably would not leave you. But I guess I will. Don't worry though… I will always be with you… in here." He reached up and tapped her heart. He gave a retching gasp, vomited up a massive gout of blood, and died. Luna broke down crying.

Rainbow Dash's eyes were wide as she began to shake uncontrollably, "No… not again! No! NO! NO! NO!"

Twilight buried her face in Flaming Star's mane and began to weep as well.

Sunset simply sat there, looking at Regal Crescent blood-soaked body. He had seen too much violence in his time to feel nauseated by the sight of blood, but Regal Crescent's death was terrible, and his emotions were on the brink of spilling over.

Flaming Star just stood there, letting Twilight cry on him. He looked at Regal Crescent and said, "Well… He… He killed the most powerful demon of all time."

Sunset nodded. "He was the best. I've never seen such power, or quick thinking."

Flaming Star nodded as well and said, "He was awesome… even better than me. He was the most powerful."

"Yes… he was," sighed Sunset, "We need to put him to rest, Luna is crying herself to pieces."

Flaming Star slowly levitated the body, and cleaned the blood and dirt off of him. Luna was still clutching to him and crying. "We need to bury him near the harmony tree," Flaming Star said, "that is the place he would have wanted to be buried in. Not Earth Prime, not anywhere else… he would have wanted to be here, with his harmony tree, and his loved ones."

* * *

_Dimension: Doctor Who_

_Planet: Phaester Osiris_

_Specific Location: East Desert_

_Time: 3825 Anno Domini_

Legion gasped as he felt his life slip away. He had lost. His vision began to cloud as he drifted into oblivion, where his soul would be imprisoned in eternal darkness and nothingness for the rest of eternity. As he died, he forced out a chuckle. He had lost… but it did not matter, things were going according to new plan.

"Perhaps double-crossing the Grand Devil isn't such a brilliant idea," he gasped, "but then... perhaps... this is the best way for life in the multiverse to go..."

Silently, Legion telepathically contacted the hive mind of the infernal realm. "The demon army has attacked the My Little Pony dimension and laid waste to it," he said, "I and my soldiers were not harmed. There will be no further attacks against the dimension from the infernal realm. The operation was a success. Legion out."

With a grunt, Legion dragged his halved body forward a few inches before giving up. "The Paradox better deliver," he said, and with a gasp, he closed his eyes.

And then Legion died, and his soul drifted away to be tormented forever.

* * *

**Note: Okay guys, here is what is going down now. A new age is starting, and a whole new level of warfare is coming. I've already chosen winners for the team that will be part of the new age section of this story, but if you want your OC to show up, PM me! I might have use of them! I understand that this is a bit of a cliffhanger, so I will roll out the next chapter as quickly as possible. And remember to R&R!**


	24. Chapter 24 - Revival

_Dimension: Orbis Terrarum II_

_Planet: Helios_

_Specific Location: The Burnt Wastelands_

_Time: Two Centuries after the Great Rebellion_

Helios had once been a beautiful place. It had been hot, no doubt, which was why it earned the name Helios, but it was grand. Lush, tropical rainforests, many different landscapes and biospheres. Once. Now it was a blackened rock, choking with soot, ash, and fire. For Daniel, leader of the Brother's In Arms corps of the dimensional travelers, it was also a place of failure. He had grown up here, fought here, and been recruited by the Paradox here. However, after adventuring through the multiverse, he had found the place overrun by Corruption, a deadly strain of parasitic fungus interdimensionally known as medusoid mycelium, thanks to the demons supplying an insurgency with it in the form of biological weapons. Daniel had burned his homeworld to the ground to keep the fungus from spreading, and now all he saw in the place was failure and guilt.

Daniel sighed, straight-faced, as he looked around at his ruined homeworld. "Maybe this was not such a good idea after all." Although he didn't let any of it show, he was torn up about his homeworld, and the state it was in, but he didn't have time for sentimentality.

Franklin Montgomery flipped his W.A.R. sniper rifle over his shoulder and snorted, "None of us said it ever was. It was your idea to come here after the Quinto Præsidium, our last stronghold, fell to the demons."

Night Shade just blinked. The eleven-year-old traveler prodigy hadn't said anything since Ada Adalbarosdaughter, his best friend, died during Quinto Præsidium's fall. Despite his young age, he had always been a "family man," looking out diligently for whoever chose to team up with him… But it wasn't enough to save Ada, who had her stomach blown through during the final stages of the battle.

Franklin viewed the area with a soldier's eye, he had been in the army even before he was recruited by the Paradox, at age twenty, now at age twenty-seven; he hadn't changed a hair. Calm, calculating, and pretty easy-going.

Daniel turned to Franklin, "I suppose we should stay here for now," he said, "It doesn't look like anything is going to happen soon. We need to hold tight and regroup."

Night Shade, for the first time in five days, spoke, "Regroup? We are all that's left. From what I've heard, the firstborn was killed in a failed mission in the Warhammer 40k universe, and Torrus, who tried to return to us, was killed by Abbadon. I think we are all that's left."

Franklin simply shrugged, "Well, if we are all that's left, than that means we get more experience points for killing the demons."

Daniel just ignored Franklin and turned to Night Shade, "I believe you are right, Night Shade. We need to just hold tight until I can think of what to do. We need to find a way to retaliate. We may be all that is it, but we must continue to make the demons pay for what they have done here, and everywhere else."

Franklin kneeled down, using his sniper rifle as elbow rests. "It seems clear, and the traveler database said that this place hasn't been visited since Daniel… well… you know."

Night Shade flopped down and buried his face in his hands. For an eleven-year-old seeing his best friend get her stomach ruptured, he was taking it pretty well. "Let's be careful, guys. You two are all I have left now."

Daniel smiled and sat down next to Night Shade and threw an arm around him. "We will be fine, Night," he said, "We're safe here."

Franklin, who had been looking off at the distance, stood up, and began to aim his sniper rifle. "Screw you, Daniel, you jinxed it. Demons incoming!"

Daniel eyes lit up with fire as the word "demon" escaped Franklin's lips. Quickly he got up and clapped his hands; the three were immediately surrounded by white flames. "How did they find us?" he said, working to control his rage.

Franklin, who was firing off shots faster than a machine gun, and hitting his mark each time, said, "I don't know. But somehow someone knows where we are, this is just as suspicious as the circumstances surrounding the death of the firstborn."

Night Shade leapt up, and began to conjure rippling bolts of kinetic energy around his fists, and the molecules of his body began to speed up.

The demons, which only Franklin could see at first, came into view… billions of them. Franklin had pulled out his other W.A.R. sniper rifle and was firing them both off at incredible speeds, dropping 20 demons almost every second. "Well, we're dead. Nice working with you two, the Brother's In Arms corps was the best team I ever had, and I used to work with the firstborn."

Daniel had gotten his rage under control and was watching the demons approach. Slowly he extended one hand… he then quickly flicked his wrist. Every square meter for at least a hundred kilometers exploded with fire and thermal energy, decimating at least a million demons. The demons simply ran over the charred corpses of their comrades and continued coming. Daniel did it again, and again, and again. No matter how many times he did it, the demons kept coming back. Soon he became exhausted, and simply stood there in astonishment as the demons kept on coming. Night Shade, who had joined in the fight, was firing a trillion joules worth of kinetic energy in each bolt, the impacts of which literally blasted massive craters in the ground. Nevertheless, the demons kept coming. Suddenly, the massive army just disappeared. Just like that, they melted into nothing.

Daniel blinked. He didn't say anything, just began to analyze the situation. Franklin grinned, but his eyes scoured every meter of ground in every direction. After a long pause, he said, "Well, that was… who is that?"

Immediately the three turned and faced a single being approaching them. It was Lord Abimael "James" Sethson, the firstborn.

Daniel scowled at the firstborn, the two had never gotten along very well. "Firstborn, what is going on? Why are you still alive? Where are the demons?"

James grinned. "Oh, I was never dead, just out of action for a bit. What demons? You mean these demons?" With a slight gesture, the Brother In Arms corps was surrounded by a vast army consisting of the fallen angels.

Daniel began to lose his temper, "What… Have you fallen in with our hated enemy?! TELL ME!"

James rolled his eyes, "Oh, I haven't really 'fallen in' with them, I just have amalgamated myself with their likes for the time being. Why don't you join me?"

"NEVER!" roared Daniel. He unleashed a massive firestorm that turned the ground to lava and shook the planet with massive tremors. After watching the destruction for a minute, Daniel snapped his fingers once, and the storm subsided. James was still there, cloaked in a shield of pure energy, laughing.

"Oh Daniel, you were always the feisty one. And you Franklin, look at you! Don't you remember how I never led you or your friends a step wrong during the battle of Malindi IV? And you, Night Shade, wouldn't you leap at the chance to join the firstborn on a glorious battle to free the multiverse of the tyranny of freedom?"

Daniel looked James in the eyes and said, in a dangerously low voice, "We will never join you. We would rather die."

James rolled his eyes and dropped his energy shield. "You fools, can't you see how you are all going astray? There is no more 'good' in the universe, it's all gone! It's eat or be eaten now, and I think the demons have the good side of things. Come on-"

A shot went off. James blinked, swayed, and toppled over, dead on the ground.

Daniel whirled to face Franklin, who had oriented his rifle in such a way that it seemed like it was on safety, and was simply hanging uselessly by his side… then he had pulled the trigger with perfect accuracy. "Franklin! You just broke the traveler's code!"

Franklin, who was frowning at the dead body of James, said, "No I didn't. That isn't James. The firstborn and I went Malindi VII, not IV."

The dead body of James suddenly flickered, and disappeared, replaced by a hideous creature. Daniel went up and inspected the dead body.

"What the hell is that?" said Night Shade.

Franklin shrugged. "It looks like… Heck, I don't know."

Daniel, on the other hand, suddenly became aware of the situation. "My god… these things are not even supposed to exist here."

Franklin got down on one knee and inspected the dead body as well. "It can shape-shift and can inherit adaptive powers. I know the Grand Devil can shape-shift, but what can do that AND take on powers?"

Daniel got up and said, "As I said, there shouldn't be something that can do both. These things are from another multiverse entirely."

Night Shade blinked. "Another… multiverse entirely?"

Daniel nodded, "There was a brief scuffle between these things and the dimensional travelers a hundred years ago, but the battle was struck from the record books, no one should know of them. Only the firstborn and I knew of them, after all, we were the ones who fought them."

Franklin also got up, "Well, we can't stay here. We have to keep moving. If there are more of these, than we have to get the hell away from here, we have to keep moving."

Daniel shook his head, "I understand, but… we have to tell someone!"

Night Shade sighed, "Yeah? Like who?"

Daniel sighed as well and turned to the other two, "I have no idea. But we can no longer trust anyone."

* * *

_Dimension: LEGO universe_

_Planet: LEGO city planet_

_Specific Location: Bricksburg_

_Time: Twelve years after the Kragle Crisis_

Steve woke up and jumped out of bed. At first he went about his business like it was a regular day. He got up, took a shower, brushed his teeth, and ate breakfast. However, as he ate his food, he noticed the calendar, and the little note scribbled over the box that represented today… Then he remembered.

A week ago, a weird creature stumbled through a portal outside of a Bricksburg University classroom a few minutes after everyone but he had left. It fell to the ground and lay still. Suddenly, it had morphed into a LEGO girl, with a terrible wound in her side, and scars and bruises all over her body. He had rushed her to the hospital, and they had diagnosed her situation as critical. They ejected him from the room and said that she would be in surgery for about a week. He had been so fascinated by the situation that he marked specifically on the calendar the time he could visit her so that he could drop in and ask her about what had happened.

Excitedly, he grabbed a suit and tie and ran to his car, jumping in, he raced off to the hospital. Quickly, he entered in, checked in at the front desk as a guest, and followed an attendant to the room the mysterious LEGO girl was housed in. The attendant left him at the front door and went off to see to other matters. Steve took a deep breath, and eased the door open. He peeked through the crack and saw the LEGO girl, sitting in her bed, reading a book. She looked around and then spotted Steve. She smiled and beckoned him in.

"Hello, who are you?" she said.

Steve cleared his voice and said, "I'm Steve. I- I am the one who brought you to this hospital."

Her smile brightened, "Oh, you are, are you? Well, you have my thanks! I was really hurt."

Steve nodded. "You still are. But… what were you? I saw you as a weird creature, and then you fell over and turned into... well, turned into you!"

Her smile disappeared and she sighed sadly, "Ah yes, truth is, I'm not really a LEGO person. I'm a dimensional traveler."

Steve raised an eyebrow with interest. "Oh! We know of them! They helped the Master Builders during the battle of Demon Hill; 127 years ago right?"

She blinked in surprise. "Yeah. We did. I didn't think anyone would remember."

Steve winked, "I'm a professor in History at Brickberg University."

Her smile returned. "That's wonderful," she said, "Oh; my name is Miranda by the way."

Steve returned the smile. "Nice to meet you Miranda. If it's not too much to ask, why were you so badly hurt?"

She frowned as if in thought. Finally, she said, "I- I don't really remember. I was fighting something… and then I opened a portal to, er, somewhere… and then I ended up here!"

Steve frowned as well and said, "Wow, that sounds confusing. Well, I hope you're getting well quickly!"

She winked, "I sure hope so!"

Steve waved to her and left the room. Miranda stared off into the distance, listening to his footsteps grow fainter and fainter. Slowly she traced a finger down a long, purple scar that ran from he temple to her jaw. Then she brightened. She knew what she had to do. Quickly, she opened a portal to the My Little Pony dimension by her bedside, got up, and leapt through.

* * *

_Dimension: My Little Pony_

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Sweet Apple Acres_

_Time: A year after the death of Regal Crescent_

"The Cutie Mark Crusaders will now call their clubhouse to order!" said Sweetie Bell as she tapped her hoof against their pedestal in their clubhouse.

"Uh, Sweetie Bell, we were all waiting already," said Scootaloo.

Sweetie Bell just smiled, "I know, but we can't have a meeting without one of us saying that! It's just how things are!"

"Okay! Let's get a move-on then!" said Apple Bloom, "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

Sweetie Bell nodded. "We are here for an emergency meeting about Flaming Star and Twilight!"

Scootaloo rubbed her head. "Wait… what? I thought this was about Summer Harvest Parade!"

Sweetie Bell shook her head. "No silly! That was last meeting! You just fell asleep during it! We're here to talk about Flaming Star and Twilight."

Apple Bloom nodded. "Yeah, they've dating for a year now! How many times now?"

Sweetie Bell pulled a face, "361 times, I counted. All they do is order food, ignore it, and just stare at each other for the duration of the meal! How long are they going to do that? It's really embarrassing."

Scootaloo pulled a face as well, "Yeah. They really have to stop doing that and get married already."

Apple Bloom facehoofed. "I think everyone thinks that, but Flaming Star is insisting they 'take it slow.' Some excuse. He's just scared."

Scootaloo brightened up. "Maybe we could slip a wedding ring in their drinks! Then maybe Twilight will think he's proposing, finally, and say yes!"

Apple Bloom then said, "I don't see how that would work. Flaming Star is one of them, er, dimensional traveler thingys, he probably would know what we were doing before we even knew."

Sweetie Bell frowned and sat down. "Yeah, I don't see how we could do it…"

Suddenly, a loud clatter rang outside, and the CMC rushed to look out the window. A bright yellow earth pony covered in scars was dangling from the lower branches of an apple tree, he eyes wide with confusion.

The CMC rushed outside and galloped to the base of the tree and looked up through the branches.

"Hello up there!" yelled Apple Bloom, "Are you okay?"

"I think so," came the reply, "I have no idea what I'm doing."

Scootaloo snorted. "Clearly. How in the hay have you gotten yourself up there?"

There was a pause… "I have no idea."

There was an abrupt snap, and the earth pony yelled, "Incoming!"

She fell straight out of the tree and landed hard on her rump. Dizzily, she stood up and swayed in place. She then shook her head and looked around with clear blue eyes.

The CMC just stared at her.

The pony smiled, "Hello, my name is Miranda. What are your names?"

Scootaloo shook herself out the stupor first and said, "Oh! I'm Scootaloo, she's Apple Bloom, and she's Sweetie Bell! We're the Cutie Mark Crusaders!"

Miranda cocked her head to one side and said, "What's a cutie mark?"

Sweetie Bell blinked. "It's on your flank. Oh no, you're a dimensional traveler thingy, aren't you?

Miranda didn't answer, but looked at her flank. It had a bright star, encased in an infinity sign. "Well, that's pretty, isn't it? Um… what am I?"

Sweetie Bell was still just staring. "Well… you're a pony. An earth pony. Are you a dimensional traveler?"

Miranda eyes brightened. "I am! How did you know?"

Scootaloo answered. "We have two here already! There is Flaming Star and Sunset Shadow!"

Miranda's brow furrowed as she thought. After a pause, she said, "It that… their names?"

Apple Bloom rubbed her chin as she said, "I THINK so. I know that Sunset Shadow's name was originally Joseph Torrus, but…"

Miranda's pupils shrunk and she pressed her ears against her skull as she said, "Torrus… HERE?"

Scootaloo reached up and pattered her shoulder. "Calm down, Miranda. He's not evil anymore! He's our best friend!"

Sweetie Bell gave her a huge smile and said, "Yep! Wisest, smartest, bestest friend we could ever have!"

Apple Bloom raised an eyebrow and interjected, "Um, Sweetie Bell? Bestest ain't a word."

Sweetie Bell rolled her eyes. "Neither is 'ain't'… anyway, I don't remember what Flaming Star's name was originally. Something really long and weird. Do you want us to take you to them?"

Miranda had gotten her emotions under control and she nodded silently.

"Right!" said Scootaloo dramatically, "Then off we go… to Ponyville!"


	25. Chapter 25 - A Shocking Discovery

_Dimension: Looking For Group_

_Planet: Earth_

_Specific Location: Nestorep_

_Time: 1 Year after Cale'anon Meets Richard_

"This place looks safe," said Night Shade as he strolled into the little town.

Franklin just scanned from side-to-side as he muttered, "Yeah, you probably jinxed it now. It is so jinxed now."

Daniel quietly walked in front, he eyes downcast as he tried to blend in. "Be careful guys," he said, "the database states that this place runs off self-sustainable magic. You can use amulets to enhance your abilities, but for the most part it all runs indefinitely, we have to watch for mages."

Franklin continued to look around as he said, "I don't think we will have to completely worry about that, no doubt demons will show up now that Night Shade has jinxed it!"

Night Shade looked at him with confusion on his face. Daniel just snorted, "I suppose the number thirteen is a bearer of bad news as well?"

Franklin shook his head. "Of course not! I don't really believe in superstition, it's bad luck."

There was an extremely long pause. Suddenly Night Shade said, "Oh! I get it!"

Daniel stopped at a tavern inn and looked it up and down. "This place should do. We will stay here indefinitely until we can figure out what steps we are to take."

With that, the three entered the tavern. All noise stopped momentarily as all people in the building turned to stare at them. The three, even Night Shade, cut imposing figures in the shafts of light streaming through the door, and Daniel could see several humans beginning to sharpen daggers. He shook his head and approached the innkeeper.

"How long?" the fat man said, sweat beginning to bead on his brow, his mustache twitching nervously.

His eyes still downcast, Daniel said, "Indefinitely. We will sort the bill out later."

The innkeeper looked like he wanted to argue, but he nodded quickly as Daniel began to look up. Franklin, who had been watching their back, nodded to Daniel. They took their room number, and immediately went to it. They closed the door, and all sat down around a small table in the middle of the room.

"I think," started Franklin, "we should first discuss who has to share a bed. Night Shade is a REALLY loud snorer."

Night Shade gasped, "I am not!"

Daniel lifted his voice a little and said, "Stop it. We need to talk about the next steps."

Franklin just snorted. "What steps can we take? We are all alone, demons are amok, and hostile creatures from another multiverse entirely are invading. What plans? All I can see is disharmony and chaos."

Night Shade shook his head, "Oh, evil has a plan alright. It's there, we just can't see it."

Franklin raised an eyebrow as he looked at Night Shade. "Well, that's what you get from being RAISED by the Paradox. Your mind gets filled with too many good thoughts. The multiverse isn't all black and white, you know."

Night Shade rolled his eyes and replied, "Having Paradox as my parent was the best thing that could have happened to me. And yes, the morals he instilled in me are predominate in my thoughts, but that doesn't mean the multiverse is black and white, I just know that evil has a massive capacity to make order look like disaster to hide their plots."

Franklin blinked. "You know, for an eleven-year-old, you are quite articulate. Your mother would be proud."

Daniel slammed a fist on the table, and the table simply shattered into sawdust from the force. Quickly he withdrew his hand and said, "Sorry… But stop it you two! We can't be arguing amongst ourselves, heaven knows the demons don't do that when they're trying to kill people. We need to figure out what to do next."

Franklin sighed as he leaned back in his chair. "As I said, there isn't much we can do. I am not being pessimistic; I am just stating the facts. We have no idea where to start."

Night Shade sighed and said, "For once, I agree with Franklin. I… I cannot risk losing any of you two."

Daniel stroked his chin. "I understand," he said, "But we have to do something. We are dimensional travelers for a reason, we protect the multiverse, and we can't do that if we are hiding. What we need to do is find out what the demons are planning."

Night Shade pulled a face. "How would we do it? We can't capture a demon; Daniel would probably just gut it without reserve."

Daniel sighed. "I hate demons and what they did to me and my homeplanet, but that doesn't mean I would kill one if I needed it alive."

Franklin cocked his head on one side as he said, "I don't know… from what I remember, there has been no account of dimensional travelers interrogating demons in the records before. This would be an unwelcomed first."

Night Shade nodded. "Most certainly an unwelcomed first. Besides, where would we find a demon who knew enough to even tell us anything?! Heck, we would probably need to capture an arch-demon for that!"

Daniel stood up and said, "That's what we need to do. We need to find an arch-demon, capture it, interrogate it, and find out what the hell is going on."

Franklin leapt up and stuck a pose. "Yes! Let's go and preform something equivalent to suicide! FOR PONY!"

Night Shade got up and said, "Okay, let's do this. But… how are we going to find an arch-demon? It's not like they are just hanging out, ready to be captured."

Daniel nodded. "No, it's not, that is why we are going to the Quinto Præsidium. That place has just been destroyed; it will most certainly have at least one arch-demon directing their search-and-kill parties through the dimension."

Franklin dropped his pose. "Well, I would have said something about this being equivalent to suicide, but… it's just suicide, plain and simple. There is almost no way we could get in there, capture an arch-demon, and not get spotted. We may be a good team, but we're not that good."

Daniel allowed himself a rare smile as he replied, "I have a plan."

* * *

_Dimension: My Little Pony_

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Ponyville_

_Time: A year after the death of Regal Crescent_

"Um… ma'am?" said Apple Bloom, a little nervously, "Could I… er, ask ya' something?"

Miranda turned her bright eyes to the filly and said, "Of course you can sweetie! Anything!"

Apple Bloom looked down and said, "Um… how did you get… er, covered in scars?"

"Yeah," said Scootaloo, her voice gentler than usual, "I mean… you're covered in scars, bruises, and burns! Are those… BRANDING MARKS?"

Miranda's face fell. She tried to smile a little again, but only sighed. "Am I… scary?"

Sweetie Bell trotted over and gave her a side-hug. "Oh course you're not! You're lovely! We're just wondering why you look so hurt!"

Miranda sighed. "I'm sorry children, but I can't really tell you. It's not something for ears as young as yours."

Scootaloo looked a little put out, but then motioned for Miranda to follow her to a large cottage on the border of town. Sweetie Bell knocked on the door. A yellow Pegasus peeked through a crack in the door.

"Hey Fluttershy!" said Scootaloo, "We have someone to see Sunset!"

The door opened and Fluttershy looked at Miranda. He pupils shrunk. After a pause she exclaimed, "Oh my goodness! You look terrible! Come in!"

Fluttershy seized Miranda by the hoof and pulled her in. She sat her down and began to look her over.

"You're so hurt! What creature could do this to you?! Sunset! Hurry!"

Sunset trotted in the room, carrying a baby filly.

"Huh? What?"

Fluttershy, not looking up, said, "Put Starlight Amber in her crib and help me! This pony is really hurt… if you don't mind, please?"

Sunset carefully handed Starlight Amber to Apple Bloom and trotted up Miranda. His pupils shrunk as his gaze fell on Miranda. "My god… What happened?"

Mirana blushed and looked at her hoofs. She mumbled, "Oh, nothing. It's nothing really."

Sunset trotted close to her and began to run his hoofs over some of the wounds. He could the pain emanating from them. "Who are you?"

Miranda, who was still blushing, mumbled, "I'm Miranda."

Sunset raised his eyebrows and said, "Miranda? That's an unusual name. Where are you from?"

Sweetie Bell answered this. She piped up, "This is Miranda! She's one of those… er, dimensional travelers."

Sunset blinked. "What?"

Miranda pointed at herself and said, "Miranda Arkine. Dimensional Orientation PD – 7. Power Tier 3. Generation: 79th."

Sunset looked at her suspiciously for a moment and then turned to Scootaloo. "Scootaloo," he said, "Could you get me Flaming Star?"

Scotaloo nodded and dashed off. Sunset turned back to Miranda and said, "I'm… I'm Joseph Torrus."

Miranda blanched a little and her pupils shrunk. She began to quiver in fear violently, but Fluttershy put a hoof on her shoulder and said, "Oh, don't worry. He's my husband. We have a nice little family here; he's changed. You're safe."

Miranda, who still looked a little scared, nodded.

Sunset sat in front of her and said, "So, tell me, what monster did this to you?"

Tears began to trickle from her face as she said, "Demons. They… they tortured me."

At that moment, the door opened and Scootaloo, Twilight, and Flaming Star entered. Flaming Star looked at Miranda and his eyes widened. "My god," he said, "What could do that to you?"

There was a pause, and Flaming Star said, "Oh, I'm Abimael 'James' Sethson. The firstborn."

Miranda's eyes widened twice their size as she said, "James? It's me! Miranda! Warhammer 40k? Extraction? The failed mission?"

Flaming Star gasped and he stumbled back. "But… but you're dead! I heard you all die! I went nova!"

Miranda nodded. "You did. But I was captured when I found Alice dead, and some arch-demons spirited me away to a stronghold somewhere as the planet was destroyed by you."

Flaming Star, who still looked absolutely surprised, then said, "They… captured you? Since when have demons spared dimensional travelers?"

Miranda, who began to tear up, shook her head and said, "I… I don't know! They brought me to a stronghold and began to torture me. They seemed furious about something, screaming about a double-agent within their ranks. They said that no one should have ever found their nuclear weapon factory. How did you find it?"

Flaming Star rubbed his head as he said, "It was from Corey Baudelaire, one of the new recruits. He never said how he got the information… How could he have been a double agent?"

Miranda began to cry like a little child. "I don't know," she sobbed, "I wouldn't tell them anything though, and they began to torture me worse and worse. It got so bad…"

Slowly Miranda sat back on her haunches and straightened up. A long purple scar ran from just above her pelvic region up across her stomach, over her chest, all the way up to the side of her neck. Fluttershy turned away, buried her face in Sunset's mane, and began to cry as well.

Flaming Star's eyes were full of sadness. "But… but you got away!"

Miranda smiled through her tears as she said, "I did, the demons were attacked by something, and they all rushed to defend the fortress. I escaped, but a demon saw me and stabbed me in the side. I managed to escape to another dimension where I was found and nursed back to health. But… it hurts."

Sunset, who still sat in front of her, looked her straight in the eyes and said, "Did you figure out what was going on?"

Miranda shuddered. "I think so… They would talk about it with each other as the cut me open. They were really mad and scared about you finding the one factory…"

Flaming Star then interjected. "I don't see how they could! We walked straight into a trap!"

Miranda nodded, "I don't understand it either, they seemed to think that somehow they had been double-crossed. It all was a part of some plan to be initiated by the Grand Devil. It code name was… Astrol."

That was the unintelligible word that Abbadon had whispered to Legion when he had been trapped within mount Azrael.

Sunset nodded slowly. "Astrol… okay. What was supposed to happen?"

"It was supposed to be initiated after Legion was released," Miranda said, "this plan is supposed to start in two hundred years, when Azrael melts. When it does melt, Legion will command his armies from his base in the infernal realm to destroy the harmony units and conquer the multiverse using guerilla tactics."

Flaming Star looked really worried. "This isn't good. Are you absolutely positive this is operation Astrol?"

Miranda nodded vigorously. "It is! I am positive."

This only made Flaming Star and Sunset even more worried. Flaming Star then said, "This is not good at all. Miranda, Legion escaped a year ago… and he never attacked with an army, he attacked us himself."

Miranda looked shocked. "So… Legion, who knew of operation Astrol… purposefully defied the Grand Demon?"

Sunset nodded, and said, "It looks like it. Something isn't right here…"

Flaming Star nodded. "It looks like something is lying to the Grand Demon. No one has done that… ever. That something must be powerful too…"

Sunset nodded, "I agree. When Legion attacked us, he actually seemed coerced into it. I know it sounds weird… but I could tell that he was scared."

Flaming Star nodded. After a pause, Sunset turned to Miranda, "Are you okay? Is there anything we can do for you? You really need those wounds to be treated."

Miranda smiled as she absent-mindedly patted Sweetie Bell's head. "I'm fine… I… just… need… to…"

Miranda gave a small gasp and feinted. Then everyone noticed that blood was beginning to seep from some of her wounds.

Twilight ran over to her. "Her wounds have opened again!" she said, "she needs to be taken to the doctor!"

Quickly she levitated the unconscious form of Miranda and they bore her off to Ponyville.

Flaming Star turned to Sunset. "This is NOT good."

Sunset grimaced. "I agree," he said, "but there is absolutely nothing we can do about it. Legion is dead now, thus operation Astrol, even if it was botched, is finished. We can't do anything about anything else now."

Flaming nodded and galloped off after Twilight.

* * *

_Dimension: Unknown_

_Planet: Unknown_

_Specific Location: Unknown_

_Time: Unknown_

"The pieces are moving forward. The board is set. The time to act is now."

"The Council must know."

"Yes, The Council must know. But before that, we must send forth our agents."

"Regulars or Elites?"

"Elites, we must ensure things do not go wrong. Start the war now. Then we will make our real move."

"They will begin to suspect. Already I know they are aware to some extent."

"It does not matter, we will take advantage of it."

"Very well, let it begin."


	26. Chapter 26 - Rehabilitation Begins

_Dimension: Raging Fires_

_Planet: Quinto Præsidium_

_Specific Location: The ruins of the outer walls_

_Time: A week and a half after the Demon siege_

"This is a really stupid idea," said Franklin, "I love it."

Daniel didn't take his eyes off an arch-demon who was directing a battalion of demons to search a couple of passageways. "It has its charms," he said, "We are going to have to be careful. One alarm goes off, and it's all over."

Night Shade nodded as he too squinted at the arch-demon in the distance. "We have one shot guys, let's make it count. What was the plan again?"

Daniel returned the nod. "Okay, in exactly a minute I am going to cause the diversion, this will funnel the demons through the main passageway. Night Shade will have used his superspeed to quickly set up the satchel charges in that area during the initial stages of distraction. As the demons funnel through, Franklin will detonate the charges. The passageway will fall through to the cellars below, which are blocked. Franklin will then take out whatever other demons survived the fall and will cover Night Shade as he engages the arch-demon. You think you can handle the guy, Night Shade?"

Night Shade blinked with nervousness as he replied, "Yeah, I think I can, as long as Franklin has got my back."

Franklin winked and slapped Night Shade's back heartily as he said, "I've totally got it. I've got your back more than you've got it."

Night Shade pulled a face, and Daniel turned and started to walk away. "We have twenty seconds, brace yourselves."

With that, Daniel teleported himself just outside the decimated main entrance of the ruined fortress. He quickly cloaked himself from view and began to count down from twenty. As he hit zero, he uncloaked and released a massive blast of fire and heat. Immediately demons rushed from all corners of the fortress to engage him, and immediately they were incinerated by blasts of flames. Soon Daniel realized he was hopelessly outnumbered. Biting his lip, Daniel continued to expend huge amounts of energy to fight back the demons.

In the fortress, the effect of diversion became immediately known. A small party of demons ran up to the arch-demon and alerted him of the situation. The arch-demon nodded and quickly signaled the nearest group of demons to follow him. He then turned around and dashed off through to the main passageway. Franklin smiled when he saw what was happening: everything was going according to plan.

Quickly Franklin signaled to Night Shade and the two swiftly ran across the roof supports, trailing the demon group. Soon they entered the main passageway, where Franklin could see the satchel charges cleverly hidden. He scoped out the target explosive… and shot it. With a massive roar all the charges ignited and exploded, bringing the whole passage down. All of the demons fell down, some killed in the explosions, others were killed by falling masonry. However, the center group, the one containing the arch-demon, was safe, and just fell to the cellar below, unharmed. They immediately tried to escape the trap, but all the exits were blocked by large stones. Suddenly all the surviving demons that were guarding the arch-demon fell dead with sniper bullets in their heads. The arch-demon was alone.

Night Shade gave Franklin a quick hand-shake and leapt down to meet the trapped demon. The monster hissed loud and long as he saw the dimensional traveler, and immediately conjured up a demonic mace. Night Shade just nodded to him and conjured up a rapier. The two met in the middle and clashed weapons. The demon had ferocity and brutality on his side, but Night Shade was quick, and smart. For the most part, the arch-demon simply swung his mace, and Night Shade just dodged the attacks, but every time the demon attacked, he became more and more unbalanced, allowing Night Shade to stab his adversary now and then. Soon, the demon was bleeding from several wounds and was breathing heavily. Night Shade glanced up as Franklin shouted, "There are too many! I can't take them all out! Prepare for hostile reinforcements!"

Suddenly a demon leapt into the pit and grabbed Night Shade from behind. The arch-demon swung his mace forward, but Night Shade flipped the demon holding him into the attack, killing it instantly. However, Night Shade let out a yell as a spear pierced straight through his shoulder as another demon attacked him from behind. Night Shade whirled, blew off the head of the offender with a kinetic blast, and the turned to face the arch-demon only to take the mace full in the face. He flew backwards and smashed into a wall. He leapt straight up and hurled his rapier. It flew true and went straight into the arch-demon's weapon arm. The demon shrieked, but it was cut off as Franklin leapt from the roof supports and landed behind the monster, bringing his sniper rifle butt down on his head. Franklin ran up and grabbed Night Shade.

"Hey, Night, are you okay?"

Night Shade ran his hand over a bloody wound on his head and said, "I think so. It hurts, but I'll be fine."

Franklin grabbed the arch-demon and slung him over his shoulder. "Right, let's get the hell out of here."

Night Shade grabbed Franklin's arm, and sped up their bodies' molecules. The three then blazed out of the pit, through the main gate, past Daniel, and off to the meeting point. Daniel noticed the blur and knew that the plan had been a success. With the last of his strength, he released a massive explosion of fire and ran off to the meeting point. He glanced over his shoulder while running and raised his eyebrows as the entire fortress was lost in a sea of charging demons warriors. Breathing hard, Daniel simply ran to the limits of his endurance. He got to the point where Franklin and Night Shade were waiting, gave a deep, gasping breath, and collapsed. He raised a hand and gave them a thumbs-up.

"Mission accomplished. Let's get back to the Looking For Group dimension and find a nice place to interrogate this piece of refuse," Daniel said.

Franklin grinned as Night Shade opened the portal. "Shiny."

* * *

_Dimension: My Little Pony_

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Ponyville_

_Time: A year after the death of Regal Crescent_

Flaming Star and Twilight sat side-by-side as they waited patiently outside the doctor's office.

"So, do you really know this pony?" asked Twilight, her eyes wide.

Flaming Star shrugged, "I did… once. We were on a team, she was in charge of extraction. However, I thought for sure she died on my last mission. She must have gone through so much…"

Twilight's eyes shimmered with tears as she said, "I've read a lot of books on wounds and the healing of them, but what she has gone through… I've never seen anything like it! How is it possible that she is okay?"

Flaming Star grimaced. "She's not okay. I think she's slowly going crazy. All her willpower went into giving us that information, but it's all gone now…"

At that moment, the doctor walked in. "I've done all I can. You can visit her now, but be quiet, she's sleeping peacefully."

Twilight and Flaming Star trotted into the room and looked at Miranda. She was lying peacefully on the examination table, her body covered in bandages and bindings. Despite her being asleep, her body shook from fever, and exhaustion.

Suddenly she opened her eyes and screamed, "DEMONS! THEY'RE HERE! GET THEM AWAY FROM ME!"

The doctor rushed in and helped Twilight and Flaming Star restrain her. Miranda screamed and cried, and eventually the doctor was forced to sedate her.

Flaming Star's eyes were full of sadness as he said, "She's broken. What she has gone through…"

A tear fell from his eyes. He then turned around and said to Twilight, "There is nothing we can do now. Doctor, what should we do next?"

The doctor felt Miranda's brow as he said, "I'm really not sure. This pony has suffered so much that her mind has become unstable. I don't think it's bad enough that she needs to be sent to a mental hospital; her willpower is immense, but I think she will need friends and family to help her mind recuperate."

Flaming Star bit his lip. "This isn't good. I don't think she has any friends anymore, they're all dead. I also never knew who her family was or where they lived. We're all that she has now."

Twilight nodded. "We've got to help her. I'll let her stay with me."

Flaming Star pressed his ears against his head as he grimaced. "You understand that she is going to sway in and out of lunacy, right?"

Twilight nodded. "I understand, but she needs a friend right now, sane or not, and that is what we're going to give her."

Flaming Star kissed her and the cheek. "You're the best pony in all of Equestria."

Twilight returned the kiss.

* * *

_Dimension: My Little Pony_

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Ponyville Border_

_Time: A year after the death of Regal Crescent_

Sunset, Fluttershy, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, the CMC, and Spike all sat in a park, doing absolutely nothing.

"Er… is there somethin' we're a supposed to be doin'?" asked Apple Blossom after a really long pause.

Sunset blinked, "Um… no. Twilight and Flaming Star are handling Miranda. We just… wait…"

"Booorrringgg!" exclaimed Rainbow, "Isn't there SOMETHING we could do?"

"We could play duck-duck-goose!" exclaimed Pinkie Pie.

Rarity pulled a face. "Oh dear, I really think all that running would mess up my mane."

Applejack rolled her eyes, "We have to somethin'! We can't just sit here and wait 'till somethin' happens on its own!"

Fluttershy blinked as she snuggled close to Sunset. "I don't know, this peace and quiet is really nice."

Scootaloo pulled a face, and Sweetie Bell exclaimed, "Really what? I have no idea what is going on!"

Sunset sighed. Then he said, "Well… we have the Summer Harvest Parade coming up in a few days. We should all talk about that!"

Suddenly Spike grimaced and belched out a parchment. Rarity picked it up. There was a long pause.

Suddenly Rainbow snatched it up and said, "Aw, to hay with it, Twilight would have read it to us anyway."

She tore it open and read it. Then she exclaimed, "Wow! Princess Celestia says that this year she will be attending our parade! And she'll be in a float of her own!"

Rarity gave a little exclamation of excitement. "Oh how posh! This will be wonderful! I will have to make sure everything is perfect!"

Sunset smiled, "I agree."

Apple Blossom began to bounce. "This'll be great! Come on Cutie Mark Crusaders, we have brainstorming to do! Sunset, would you like to come and help us?"

Sunset jumped up, "I would love to! Fluttershy, will you be okay with Starlight Amber?"

Fluttershy kissed him on the cheek. "I'll be fine, sweetie."

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. "Well, I'm outta here!"

With that, everypony dispersed.

As Sunset and the CMC were trotting to the clubhouse, they came across Twilight and Flaming Star, who was levitating the cot with an unconscious Miranda in it.

"Oh no!" exclaimed Sweetie Bell, "Is she okay?"

Flaming Star sighed. "Sort of. She's okay in body… but her mind isn't quite right anymore."

"What do you mean?" exclaimed Scootaloo, whose face was a picture of worry, "She seemed fine when we found her!"

Twilight shook her head sadly. "She was barely holding herself together. After feinting, her will broke… and so did her mind. The doctor said that she could become better… she would just need time, and friends."

Sunset smiled, "She came to the right place. Oh, Twilight! Spike got a message from Princess Celestia! Rainbow Dash opened it and said that Princess Celestia said that she would be coming for the Summer Harvest Parade!"

Twilight gasped in joy, "I forgot about that all! That's wonderful!"

Even Flaming Star cracked a smile as he said, "I suppose we should make a float. I've always wanted to make a float."

Twilight seized him in a hug and said, "We should! We could make a giant book float!"

Sunset snorted with a chuckle as he and the CMC passed by. "You have fun with that. We're off."

With that, Sunset and the Cutie Marks Crusaders passed on by. Flaming Star turned to Twilight. "Let's get Miranda to your house… are you SURE this is what you want? I could just take her to my house."

Twilight shook her head, "I'm sure. I would like her company."

Flaming Star sighed. "Okay, but don't forget you have Spike with you… and that Miranda is pretty much insane right now. She will need a lot of attention."

Twilight gave him a huge smile. "Oh, I'll be fine! Let's go and make a float!"

The three quickly trotted off to Twilight's house. Silently, they lay down Miranda's cot next to Twilight's bed. Suddenly, Spike entered. He looked at Miranda. "Who is this? Wow! What happened to her?"

Twilight sighed. "Her name is Miranda. She's a dimensional traveler who has been tortured for a while by demons. She's not right in her mind anymore, so we're letting her stay here with us."

Spike blinked nervously. "Um… stay with us? What do you… is she crazy?"

Flaming Star frowned. "Yeah, she has mental problems due to the pain she has endured."

At that moment, Miranda let out a scream and began to thrash around in her bed. Twilight moved to her and began to pat one of her hoofs, saying, "It's okay… you're safe now…"

Miranda calmed down, and went back to sleep. Spike, who had leapt and hid behind Flaming Star the moment of Miranda's outburst, peaked around Flaming Star as he said, "Wow… That's sort of…"

Twilight sighed again. "She's staying with us, Spike. She needs friends, and we're going to give her some."

Flaming Star smiled. "You're a wonderful pony, Twilight. Let's go downstairs and maybe start some drawing for a float."

Twilight brightened as she said, "That's a wonderful idea! I think I have a few books on float-making."

As they trotted downstairs, Flaming Star laughed, "You have books on everything. Anyway, I'll grab some paper, you grab some pens."

As the two continued downstairs, Spike slowly moved up to Miranda. Her body shook as it worked overtime to heal the wounds. Tears began to well in his eyes as he hesitantly reached forward and placed a claw lightly on a dark branding mark on her hip that was scorched deep into her tender flesh.

Spike then turned around and ran downstairs to join Twilight and Flaming Star around a drawing board. They worked on the design for a book-shaped float for the rest of the day; however, as the sun was setting in the west hills, Miranda woke up.

Slowly she sat up and looked around. Quietly she called out, "Hello? Is anyone there?"

Twilight and Sunset scrambled over each other as they rushed upstairs to greet her.

"You're awake!" exclaimed Twilight, giving Miranda a huge smile, "I was hoping you were okay!"

Miranda blinked. "Who are you?"

"Oh! I'm Twilight. This is Flaming Star, or, as you know him, James. You remember James, don't you?"

Miranda blinked. "James? What's wrong with me? The images… the dreams… they won't go away. The voices are too loud…"

Flaming Star's eyes were full of sorrow as Twilight went up and patted Miranda's hoof. "You'll be fine, Miranda, you will be fine."

Miranda gave a shaking sigh, "The demons… there are so many… SO MANY!"

Miranda tried to jump out of bed, but simply collapsed and blacked out.

Flaming Star sighed and turned to Twilight. "She's going to be like that for a while I guess. She seems stable as of yet, but we will have to be careful."

Twilight nodded and turned to Spike. "Spike, could you watch over Miranda for a while?"

Spike nodded wordlessly, his face a picture of pained concern. Seeing any pony in this state hurt him. Quietly Twilight and Flaming Star went downstairs again to finish their plans on the book float. As this transpired, a little bit away, Sunset, Sweetie Bell, Scootaloo, and Apple Blossom worked on a float of their own for the upcoming Summer Harvest Parade.

* * *

**Note: What, no feedback? You're hurting my feelings guys! Just kidding. Just don't forget the R&R thingy! Oh, what do you think, should I be posting new chapters at 4:00 pm, 5:00 pm, or 6:00 pm PST regularly?**


	27. Chapter 27 - Assassins

_Dimension: Looking For Group_

_Planet: Earth_

_Specific Location: The Forest of Nestorep_

_Time: A year after Cale'anon meets Richard_

"So," said Night Shade, "How the hell are we going to get the arch-demon to talk? They really don't hold their lives very highly in regard thanks to their hive mind disposition."

Daniel stroked his chin. "We need to trick him into talking."

Franklin laughed heartily as he slung the unconscious arch-demon off his shoulder and tossed him against a nearby tree. "That should be interesting," he said, "I mean, how are we going to trick him? How does that even work?"

Daniel nodded decisively after a short pause. "I have an idea. Here we go…"

The arch-demon woke suddenly. Snarling, he attempted to lurch forward only to find himself tightly bound by bonds of pure energy. He struggled a bit with the bindings before giving up. He then noticed Night Shade and Daniel standing in front of him.

"Who are you? How dare you defy the great Malpas! You're corpses will burn and rot!" the demon screeched.

Daniel just rolled his eyes, pulled back a hand, and backhanded the demon hard. He then said, "Yeah, great. Could you just shut up for a moment?"

Malpas spat out a broken tooth and growled, "Why have you held me captive?! No traveler has ever held demons captive! Why are you here?!"

Daniel laughed. "Oh, it's really simple. We usually don't like sparing abominations like you, but we're desperate, and we need some answers."

Malpas just laughed in turn. "You will never get answers from me."

"Oh really?" said Night Shade, "you might find us… quite persuasive."

Malpas leaned forward in his bonds and spat at Night Shade. "Do your worst, you mewling youth!"

"Oh, leave him alone," said a voice. All three looked to see Franklin strolling in.

"Franklin, what are you doing here? I thought you were watching our backs!" exclaimed Daniel.

"Oh, I would be, except for a minor issue," said Franklin as he strolled in closer.

"And what issue would that be?" said Night Shade, cocking his head to one side.

"I'm not Franklin," said Franklin. He raised a hand and snapped it once. Both Daniel and Night Shade let out yells and collapsed to the floor in crumpled heaps.

Franklin strolled up to the bondage and flicked a wrist, the bonds disappeared.

Malpas looked at Franklin curiously. "Who are you?" he asked.

"Oh, you know who I am, arch-demon Malpas," snarled Franklin, "You know very well."

Malpas began quivering. He collapsed at Franklin's feet. "Oh Grand Devil!" he cried, "What honor have I earned to be in your presence?"

Franklin kicked Malpas and snarled, "I have no time for your bowing and scraping, underling. There are issues that I have heard about from the Raging Fires dimension, and I want you to resolve them."

Malpas looked up and replied, "What issues?"

Franklin glared at the arch-demon as he replied. "There are creatures loose from another multiverse," he said, "Why are they here?"

Malpas looked confused, "Other creatures? We do not know of such things!"

Franklin kicked Malpas again and screamed, "LIAR! TELL ME THE TRUTH!"

Malpas cowered as he said, "We don't know of other creatures! We are simply preparing for the aftermath of operation Astrol! Like you commanded!"

Franklin stroked his chin. "Astrol… you changed its name, no doubt; without my permission."

Malpas shook his head, "We did no such thing! It was codenamed Astrol."

Franklin pulled out a long knife and said, "You did. In fact, how do I even know you are arch-demon Malpas? The Malpas I know would never lie like this."

Malpas gulped and leaned back. "No! I swear! Operation Astrol! We were to wait until mount Azrael melts, and then, with Legion as our leader, attack the harmony unit dimensions!"

Franklin pulled back the blade as he said, "Oh… so you are him. Mount Azrael… that's supposed to melt in, what, two hundred years?"

Malpas blinked, "No, Grand Devil, it shattered last year, far ahead of schedule. But… you should have known that…"

Franklin swore and hurled his blade against a tree. The tree shattered into splinters. "Curses! I knew I should have listened to that messenger before killing him!"

He whirled back to Malpas and seized him by the throat. "Status update! NOW!"

Malpas wriggled as he said, "Operation Astrol is complete! Legion was successful in destroying the My Little Pony harmony tree and is now taking leave until he can attack the other harmony units! We are awaiting orders from you sire!"

Franklin nodded and said, "Very well. You want orders? I'll give you orders. Go to hell."

With that, Franklin whipped out a handgun and shot Malpas through the head. The arch-demon simply blinked stupidly, and then fell over. As his body hit the ground, Daniel leapt up and said, "Well done!"

Franklin bowed, "Acting is one of my many gifts, fearless leader."

Night Shade, who was still lying in the grass, just burst out laughing.

Smiling a little, Daniel went over and helped Night Shade up as he said, "Well, our next step is clear now. We need to go to the… er… um, My Little Pony universe to see what is left of it. Then we will track down Legion and kill him. With the infernal realm's commander-in-chief down, things will function a lot slower for the demon armies."

Franklin nodded, "Right-o. Let's get moving!"

* * *

_Dimension: My Little Pony_

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Dimension: Flaming Star's house_

_Time: 2 days after the arrival of Miranda_

Flaming Star awoke to the sound of trumpets. He hopped out of bed and ran to his window to see Princess Celestia in her royal chariot touching down in Ponyville's town square. He quickly got himself ready and galloped off to meet her. As town square came into view, he was joined by Twilight.

"How's Miranda?" asked Flaming Star as he kept moving.

"She's fine. She woke up screaming about nightmares a couple of times last night, but she's sleeping soundly now. Spike is watching over her."

Flaming Star sighed as he said, "Are you sure Spike is up to the job? Last time he took care of Angel, he near ended up burning Sunset and Fluttershy's house to the ground."

Twilight laughed, "Oh, I think he will be okay."

At that, the two entered town square to see Celestia getting off of her chariot. Flaming Star cantered up and bowed with Twilight, Celestia then returned the bow.

"It is so nice to see you two again, my little ponies," she said.

Flaming Star nodded and said, "It is good to see you as well, Celestia. Tell me, how is Luna?"

Celestia's eyes fell as she replied, "She is still mourning. There is nothing we can do for her."

There was a long pause, finally broken by Twilight who said, "Princess? Where is the float you said you would ride?"

Celestia smiled as she replied, "Oh, it will be coming in time for the parade. Noon, correct?"

Flaming Star nodded. "It will be taking place this noon."

Celestia smiled. "Wonderful, I will see you two there. I have a few things to discuss with Mayor Mare."

Flaming Star nodded, and Celestia trotted away. Flaming Star then turned to Twilight. "Well," he said, "I suppose we should go and get our float prepared with everything else."

In a couple of hours, the book float was set up, and was driven by Flaming Star, and Twilight to the meeting place for all the other floats. There they met with Sunset, Fluttershy, Starlight Amber, and the CMC.

"Well hello you two," said Sunset as the book float pulled up to his apple-shaped float, "How are you doing?"

Flaming Star leaned on the driving wheel and winked, "Oh, we're just dandy. You wouldn't believe the engine we packed into this. 10-Cylinder, 90 degree V-type, 8.4 liter…"

"Wow, great, awesome, whatever," interjected Sunset, "Does this mean it's really flammable?"

There was a long pause. Finally Fluttershy said, "Where's Spike?"

Twilight waved, "Oh, he's watching over Miranda while we set up everything. When we can find somepony to watch her, he'll tag along."

Fluttershy wrung her mane, "Oh dear that sounds tiring, do you want me to watch her?"

Sunset kissed her on the cheek. "No dear," he said, "You've got to meet up with the rest of the Ponytone Quintet for practice. I'll watch her."

Twilight gave him a smile, "Thanks! Spike would appreciate the break."

Sunset nodded back and turned to the Cutie Mark Crusaders. "Will you three be fine?"

Scootaloo saluted. "We will! Have, um, fun!"

Sunset winked and trotted away with Fluttershy.

Suddenly a fanfare blared out, and the small group turned to see Celestia, followed by the rest of the Mane 6, cantering in with a large, beautifully adorned sun-and-moon-shaped float behind them.

Twilight ran up and gave Princess Celestia a hug. "Wow! It's amazing."

Celestia smiled, "Not as amazing as your float, Princess Twilight."

Mayor Mare then trotted up and said, "Okay everypony! Time to get the floats ready! Here is the list with the order of the floats in it!"

Flaming Star trotted up and scanned it quickly. Their float, followed by Celestia's float, were in the middle, usually the best place to be in a procession. He grinned and went off to tell Twilight. With that, the parade began. The cheering was immense, and the music of the Ponytone Quintet sailed through the clear blue sky as the procession slowly moved down from the Ponyville Town Square.

Flaming Star and Twilight sat side-by-side, grinning as they continued down the road. Flaming Star stuck his head out the window to watch as all the happy faces of a multitude of ponies passed by his vision. He turned to Twilight. "This is the life," he said, "I couldn't think of anything better."

Twilight smiled back and said, "Is this a memory you'll recall?"

Flaming Star kissed her on the cheek, "Oh yeah, this memory I will remember."

He then looked out the window to continue watching the ponies pass by. The parade floats in the middle slowed down a bit as the rounded a tight corner to pass by Sugar Cube corner… then it happened.

As if time slowed down, Flaming Star saw a group of hooded figures part the crowd near the corner they were rounding. As the crowd moved aside a bit, one of the figures hoisted a grenade and hurled it… straight at Princess Celestia. She wasn't looking, and they couldn't miss. Flaming Star didn't think, he just acted. Kicking down the door of the book float, he leapt sideways out of the vehicle and hurled a bolt of kinetic energy. It struck the grenade straight-on and blasted it high in the air where it detonated. Unfortunately, it was a shrapnel grenade, and slivers of deadly steel and ceramics sizzled down to the crowd below. The splinters hit Celestia in the leg, Flaming Star in the side, and the backs of several other nearby ponies. The rest of the ponies started screaming and running amok. Despite the deep pain in his side, Flaming Star didn't take his eyes off the direction the hooded figures had gone. Twilight ran out of the float and frantically began to hug Flaming Star.

"Flaming Star! Are you okay?!" she yelled, her eyes brimming with tears.

Gritting his teeth, Flaming Star reached his head down and pulled out two long, bloody steel splinters. He spat them out and said, "I'm fine. See to Celestia, she's hurt as well. I cannot let those insurgents get away!"

Twilight, her eyes wide, nodded quickly and ran off to Celestia, who was lying on the ground, surrounded by her guard. Flaming Star staggered up and swiftly got his bearings. Then he galloped off after the hooded group. They had head-starts, but they couldn't outrun the firstborn. Soon, after rounding a corner at top-speed, Flaming Star saw the group. Three hooded ponies. Gritting his teeth through the pain, Flaming Star picked up the pace and closed in. When they were close enough, he sent waves of seismic power into the ground, causing the earth beneath the hooded figures to shift and explode. The ponies fell to the earth. The moment they hit the ground, tentacles of stone erupted out of the ground to wrap themselves around them, binding them tight.

Breathing heavily, Flaming Star slowly moved up to them. He threw off their cloaks. He did not recognize any of them, though they most certainly were not from around Ponyville; two stallions and one mare.

"Why?" he said, breathing hard, "Why?"

"Long live the Black Hoof!" yelled one, he ground his teeth, there was a snap, and the pony's mouth was filled with foam and he went into convulsions. They had Nytebane, the deadly herb, in little pills in their back molars. The other two began to do the same. However, only one managed to break the pill before Flaming Star had knocked them out. Looking at the last living instigator, Flaming Star gingerly pried open his mouth and pulled the pill out. Wrinkling his muzzle in disgust, he vaporized it with a dark matter blast. He then picked up the unconscious form of the hooded pony and slung him over his shoulder. He then slowly limped away.

Several minutes later he had returned to the scene of the crime. Twilight was helping a shaken and wounded Celestia as police ponies were working to calm the crowds. Sunset and Fluttershy were with Twilight, and as soon as Sunset saw Flaming Star, he galloped over.

"What happened?" he exclaimed as he pulled up next to Flaming Star.

Flaming Star sighed as he dropped the insurgent. "I don't know, some act of terrorism I guess. There were three hooded ponies waiting near the corner. As we rounded it, they threw a shrapnel grenade at Princess Celestia, I blocked it, and they ran. I managed to catch them, but they had nytebane pills for suicide. Nevertheless, I was able to take one captive anyway. They called themselves the Black Hoof. Does that ring a bell?"

Sunset stroked his chin. After a pause, he said, "No, sorry. I don't think so."

Twilight turned to see Flaming Star. She galloped over as well and began to mop Flaming Star's wound, which was still bleeding profusely. "Stay still Flaming Star!" she exclaimed, he eyes wide with worry, "I need to patch it up!"

Sighing, Flaming Star lay down and let Twilight put a bandage on it. After a moment, he turned to the Sunset. "We need to find out what is going on with these terrorists."

Sunset nodded. "I'm sure we can figure something out."

Flaming Star grimaced as Twilight tightened the bindings as he replied, "Yeah, I suppose so. However, if they're an extremist group, we will have trouble getting anything out of them."

Twilight finished the bandage and said, "Princess Celestia will know what to do."

Flaming Star got up unsteadily and moved over to the hooded pony. He pulled of the cloak. The pony was rough cut, with black skin and a cyan mane. His cutie mark was that of a dagger.

Sunset frowned. "Hmmm… an assassin pony. Interesting. Do we even have those types of ponies here in Equestria?"

Celestia limped over as she interjected, "We do not. This pony is from one of the other lands."

Flaming Star nodded decisively. "Okay, so this was most certainly an act of foreign terrorism."

Abruptly, a large bat-winged pony landed and yelled to Celestia, "You're highness! Princess Luna was attacked by assassins!"

It was a pony from Luna's infamous Night Guard. Celestia gasped, "My dear sister! Is she alright?"

The Night Guard bowed low as he said, "She was fine. We were able to protect her with minimal casualties; the terrorist group had no survivors. What has happened here?"

Celestia sighed, "We were attacked here as well. It seems somepony wanted us out of the way."

Flaming Star narrowed his eyes. "It seems so," he said, "But who? Who would want to make an enemy of Equestria?"

The assassin let out a groan, and Applejack trotted up to him, prodding him in the chest. "Looks like we about to be findin' out!"

* * *

**Note: Ooooh... assassins! Anyway, nice to see those reviews rolling in! Thanks! Keep them coming!**


	28. Chapter 28 - Negotiations

**Note: To all those eagerly awaiting the dimensional travelers to meet up with each other... Give me a moment! I can't just make Night Shade show up and say "Yo ponies! Where is Abimael? I totally know we're not the last good travelers alive!" I will need to beat around the bush a bit. Sorry, but this will make them all finally meeting (and yes, they will meet) so much more awesome. Oh, and what do you think of my new story cover?**

* * *

_Dimension: Looking For Group_

_Planet: Earth_

_Specific Location: Forest of Nestorep_

_Time: Two days after the arrival of the Brother's in Arms corps_

The three stood in a circle, as Daniel prepared to open the portal to the My Little Pony dimension.

There was an extremely long pause.

"Well?" said Night Shade, "what do we do now?"

Daniel nodded quietly as he said, "We are going to send one of us in. They will scope out the location quickly, and return back to us. While they are gone, the rest of us will be setting up a perimeter in this forest. We will use this as a base for our other operations against Legion and his armies."

"Soooo," added Franklin, "what do we do now?"

Daniel rolled his eyes. "Okay, we need one of us to go to the My Little Pony dimension as a silent scout. They will spy out the land."

Franklin nodded. "Cool, cool…"

Daniel turned to Franklin and said, "I advocate that you go."

Franklin pointed at himself. "Me?" he said, "Why ever me?"

"Well, you are the best at first-contact situations, and you are a sniper. If there is anyone there, you will be well suited to deal with them, friend or foe," replied Daniel.

Franklin bowed. "Oh, thank you, fearless leader. However, I don't think this would be the best time for me to do it."

Daniel cocked his head to one side. "Okay, why?"

"Well," explained Franklin, "For starters… there is wwwaaayyyy too much pink. I mean, this dimension, from what I've seen, is too feministic. I probably could get a stroke, or cooties, from breathing in the air."

There was another extremely long pause.

"Okay," said Daniel, "I can see where you're coming from, but remember, it's completely destroyed. All of it."

Franklin stroked his chin. "Hmmmm," he mused, "I don't know if I like the color of blackened pink either. I wonder what a rainbow looks like if the air is on fire…"

Night Shade rolled his eyes. "Okay, great, whatever. I'll go. I have the speed; I'll be able to quickly scope out the planet's entire situation without being seen effectively."

Daniel turned to Night Shade, "Are you sure? We can simply open a portal and boot Franklin inside… or I can go. I don't mind."

Night Shade nodded, "I'll quickly jump in, and then jump out. No problem."

Daniel nodded, "Okay, remember, don't take too long. It may be destroyed, but that doesn't mean the dimension is not crawling with demons. Be careful." With that, he opened a portal to the My Little Pony dimension.

Night Shade saluted. "Okay fearless leader," he said, "I'll be back in a moment." Night Shade turned around and jumped through the portal.

* * *

_Dimension: My Little Pony_

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Ponyville_

_Time: Three days after the arrival of Miranda_

The assassin opened his eyes slowly. He was in a brightly lit room, with shafts of bright and clean sunlight streaming through a window. The room was nicely furnished, and everything was regally comfortable.

The assassin blinked as his vision came into view, two ponies stood before him: Celestia and Flaming Star.

Growling aggressively, the assassin reached for a hidden blade… it wasn't there. He reached for several others, they all were gone. Sighing in resignation, he looked up with a scowl to face the two standing before him.

"Tell me," said Celestia after a moment of silence, "what is your name, young pony?"

The assassin spat at her feet. He then said "It doesn't matter what my name is to you."

Celestia smiled calmly, "It does, friend. We are just worried about your safety."

"Safety?" snorted the assassin incredulously, "why? I tried to kill you!"

Celestia sighed, as she slowly sat down, resting the back leg that had been ravaged by the shrapnel. "I know you did, but you didn't succeed. Why? Why are you doing this?"

The assassin shut his muzzle tight. He shook his head.

Celestia sighed again, and levitated forth of tray full of teacups and tea. She levitated on over to the assassin.

The assassin simply looked at it, and turned his head away. Flaming Star took the teacup that was offered to him and looked at it.

"The best way," he said, "to detect if a teacup is poisoned is by looking at the sides. For the most part, all master murderers smear the powder on the sides of the user's cup, not actually sprinkle it into the teapot. This way taste-testers will not be able to detect the source of the poison directly from the tea itself. See? There is no powder on the side, if we had wanted to poison you, we would have done it in your sleep."

The assassin slowly took the cup and sipped the tea. He continued to look warily at the two as he finished it. Flaming Star sat in the sunlight, enjoying the warmth as he finished the up with Celestia.

"I do enjoy a cup of tea," said Celestia, "it brings back good memories of the quiet days."

"I agree," added Flaming Star, "in fact, it reminds me of this one time when I was sitting quietly at… um, someplace somewhere, drinking tea. It was really nice actually. In fact…"

The assassin then burst out, "What do you want with me?!"

Celestia smiled at him. "We want nothing from you right now. We're just here, enjoying your company."

The assassin ground his teeth and snarled, "If you want to know anything about the Black Hoofs official leaders, then forget about it."

Flaming Star winked at the assassin, "Okie dokie. Thanks for that tidbit though. So, you're not actually an anarchist or an extremist cult, you have leaders. So what is that, a foreign terrorist group? A mercenary band?"

Eyes wide with shock at letting that information slip, the assassin closed his mouth and shook his head vigorously.

Sighing deeply Flaming Star trotted up to the assassin and placed a hoof on his shoulder.

"Look," he said, "I understand that you're reluctant to tell us anything, but unless you can provide anything, we will have to assume you're a spy, and hand you over to the… Twilight Shredder."

The assassin then said, "The… what?"

Celestia's face darkened. "The Twilight Shredder is a terrible machine," she said, "It is designed to kill a pony in the most terrible way possible. If I truly was in charge, I would have had it dismantled eons ago. Unfortunately, the senate has branded you a spy, so unless you can prove us otherwise, we will have to take you to it."

The assassin began to sweat as he said, "But… I'm not a spy! And you're Princess Celestia! You can do anything!"

Flaming Star patted him. "We know you're not, but the senate thinks otherwise. As for Princess Celestia, sorry to burst your bubble, but she is really more of a figurehead, this is not a monarchy, or a diarchy. It is a republic. And this republic does not look very kindly upon spies. They will tolerate anarchists, assassins, and mercenaries to an extent… but spies… I'm sorry."

The assassin began to look really nervous. "I'm not a spy! I'm part of the terrorist group Black Hoof!"

Celestia looked downcast. "That doesn't prove anything, my friend," she said, "Unless you can give us real proof that you're not a spy, the senate will take you to the Twilight Shredder. It will be terrible, but our hoofs are tied: we cannot do anything for you."

Flaming Star frowned. "Last time somepony was taken to the Twilight Shredder, it took two whole days for it to kill him. It was absolutely terrifying to watch. From that point on, Princess Celestia and I vowed to protect those we could from such a terrible fate."

Celestia nodded. "It is true," she agreed, "the senate is corrupt and out of its mind. We have tried many times ourselves to depose of it and its cruel ways. We're not too different after all, and we want to help you. We just need information about this Black Hoof group!"

The assassin shook his head, "I… I can't! They would kill me!"

Celestia sighed and tapped on the door next to her once, "Then there is nothing we can do to protect you."

The door opened and a black, cloaked figure slowly paced it. It levitated a long, nasty scythe in front of it as it approached the terrified assassin.

At first the assassin looked like he had been frozen in place then he scrambled back yelling, "My name is Dunkle Dolch! I hail from the Black Hoof mercenary organization based in the Irrum Empire, near the border of Saddle Arabia and Equus! We were hired by the Irrum-Equus alliance to depose of Equestria's Princesses! Please don't take me to the Twilight Shredder! PPLLEAASSEEE!"

The hooded figure stopped and lowered the scythe. There was a long pause, and then it pulled back the hood. It was Twilight Sparkle, smiling huge and bright at Dunkle Dolch.

Flaming Star winked at him, "Thanks, Dunkle Dolch of the Black Hoof mercenary organization," he said, "Oh, by the way, Equestria is a diarchy, and there is no such thing as a Twilight Shredder. Have a nice day!"

With that, Celestia, Flaming Star, and Twilight Sparkle turned tail and cantered out of the room. The door closed and locked. Dunkle Dolch just stood there, blinking. Then the full realization of what had happened hit him… and he feinted.

Celestia, Flaming Star, and Twilight waited until they were sure they were out of ear-shot, then they burst out laughing. Twilight was laughing so hard that she had to lean on Flaming Star for support, who eventually fell down after a redoubled bout of the giggles. Even Celestia eventually collapsed with laughing. After a good four minutes or roaring with laughter, it eventually died down.

"Oh… that was the most fun I've had in forever," gasped Celestia as she righted herself.

"I know what you mean," said Flaming Star between breaths as he helped Twilight stand up, "that was hilarious. I swear I'm going to find Sunset and give him a massive trophy. The idea was freaking brilliant!"

Twilight sighed and leaned against Flaming Star's shoulder. "That was wonderful."

There was a long pause. Then they remembered what Dunkle Dolch had said.

Flaming Star's eyes darkened. "The Irrum-Equus alliance? Since when did those two start working together? I thought Saddle Arabia and Spurdan had to constantly mediate peace between those two."

Celestia brushed a tear of laughter from an eye as she said, "I don't know. However, if they have joined together, then they will be a formidable power. Equus has technology, and Irrum has soldiers and industrial power, a perfect combination for war."

Twilight, who was still leaning against Flaming Star's shoulder said, "What are we going to do about it? I could tell Dunkle Dolch was way too terrified to not be telling anything but the truth. And if that is the truth, then the Irrum-Equus alliance is not out for peace."

Flaming Star wrapped a hoof around Twilight's back and gave her a little squeeze. "We'll be fine. I do know for a fact that he was telling the truth, my gaze-of-the-souls could identify that much, but that could just mean he was misinformed. For all we know, it might not be high officials of this alliance, it could just be some large terrorist group based in that area."

Celestia nodded, "We need to find out. I will call for an audience from the two nations immediately."

"Wonderful idea Princess," said Flaming Star, "and may I suggest you get an audience from the Crystal Empire and perhaps Saddle Arabia or Hor Sey nation. They are good peace mediators."

Celstia smiled, "Excellent, Flaming Star. I will call for an audience at once. I would like you and Princess Twilight Sparkle to attend; I will need help with asking some very interesting questions about this situation."

Flaming Star saluted. "I'll get Sunset." With that, he turned around and exited the building and trotted towards Twilight's library.

Suddenly he stopped and turned around and reentered the building. Twilight and Celestia looked at him curiously. Flaming Star smiled, "I suddenly had a brilliant idea. Don't tell anypony, but I think I have a way to assemble some solid proof that this alliance is the perpetrator for this crime."

Celestia nodded. "Go and do what you have to do."

With that, Flaming Star turned tail and galloped out.

* * *

_Dimension: My Little Pony_

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Twilight's Library_

_Time: Three days after the arrival of Miranda_

Fluttershy, Starlight Amber, and Sunset were sitting next to each other in Twilight's library, just enjoying each other's company as they watched over Miranda. Starlight Amber was sleeping quietly in a crib nearby.

"Have I ever told you that I love you?" sighed Sunset as he sat next to Fluttershy.

She snuggled in closed and said, "Oh so much. I love you too."

Sunset closed his eyes, settled down, and started to drift off to sleep, letting the golden mist of Flutershy's kindness blot out any troubles. Suddenly a noise rang out and his eyes snapped open. The door opened and Flaming Star peeked in. His saw Sunset and Fluttershy, and quickly trotted in.

Sunset simply closed his eyes again and shifted closer to Fluttershy, who had fallen asleep, with her head lying directly atop of his back.

"Sunset, we have a situation," whispered Flaming Star as he sat down close to Sunset's head.

Sunset sighed. "A situation? Why must there always be situations? I just want the multiverse to stop moving so I can enjoy the company of my wife, and my foal. Tell the situation to go screw itself."

Flaming Star rolled his eyes. "Yes, yes, we all know how happy you are, but we actually have a really large problem."

Sunset opened one eye and looked at Flaming Star, "This better be good, firstborn."

Flaming Star snorted, Sunset only called him firstborn now if he was really, really annoyed. "Well, we might be facing open war with some other nations."

Sunset opened both eyes and said, "Oh, that is a problem. I thought I had fixed relations with the other countries!"

Flaming Star nodded, "I thought so too. But now we are facing an issue: the Equus and Irrum nations have joined together and hired a mercenary group to assassinate the Equestria princesses. This is an open act of hostility."

Sunset groaned, "I hate violence. I hate it I hate it I hate it I hate it I hate it…"

Flaming Star sighed, "I understand, Sunset, but we need to get ready for the worst. I am going with Celestia, Luna, and Twilight to a summit meeting with several other nations to ask them about what the hell is going on, but we cannot be sure that this will fix anything."

Sunset waved a hoof. "Awesome, great, yay. Tell you what; I'll start getting ready for this impending 'war' after I have spent quality time with my lovely wife. You go off and do whatever the firstborn does. Oh, and go ahead and marry Twilight already, then you will understand how annoyed I am."

Flaming Star rolled his eyes and got up. He then turned around and cantered out. As he closed the door, Sunset sighed and closed his eyes. Sleep returned, and he drifted into peaceful sleep.

A couple of hours later, he awoke to the movement of Fluttershy. He opened his eyes to see her slowly getting up and rubbing her eyes. He too got up and said "Morning sweetheart! How is everything?"

Fluttershy yawned, "I'm fine. I don't know about you, but I haven't slept this well in a while."

Sunset stretched, "I agree. That was wonderful." He then moved over to look at Starlight Amber. She was still sleeping peacefully, sucking her hoof. Sunset then turned to see Fluttershy, eyes wide, staring at Miranda. The scarred earth pony was sitting, staring out the window quietly.

Sunset grimaced. The pony was unstable, so he had no idea how dangerous she could be. Slowly he approached Miranda and tapped her on the shoulder. Miranda jumped and turned around. She calmed down as soon as she saw Sunset and Fluttershy.

"H-hello? Who are you?" She said hesitantly.

Sunset smiled calmly. "I'm Joseph Tor… er, I'm Sunset Shadow, a friend."

Miranda shivered. "I'm cold," she said.

Fluttershy smiled and spread a blanket over her shoulders. "There, there," she said, "everything is well. You just need to rest…"

Miranda looked around, "Something happened."

Sunset frowned. "Yes," he replied, "Something did happen. But nothing for you to worry about, you just need to sleep."

Miranda nodded, and slowly drifted to sleep once more.

Sunset turned to Fluttershy. "Fluttershy," he said, "There has been an attack against Equestria, there seems to be open hostilities between Equus and Irrum, and Equestria. We will have to be careful."

Fluttershy's eyes were wide, but she nodded silently.

* * *

_Dimension: My Little Pony_

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Canterlot Castle, Summit Room_

_Time: Four days after the arrival of Miranda_

"Cadence!" exclaimed Twilight as she rushed to meet her beloved sister-in-law.

"Twilight!" exclaimed Cadence right back. They hugged.

"Sunshine, sunshine, ladybug awake, clap your hoofs and do a little shake." They said in unison.

Flaming Star grinned, and he then turned to Shining Armor. "Shining," he said, "It is good to see you once more."

Shining Armor nodded, "It is good to see you as well. How have you been doing?"

Flaming Star returned the nod, "I've been fine."

Shining Armor glanced at Twilight and then whispered, "Have you asked her to marry you yet?"

Flaming Star pulled a face. "I haven't. I don't know about you, but this whole 'love' thing actually sort of maybe probably scares me."

Shining Armor chuckled as he patted Flaming Star's shoulder. "Yeah, yeah, you'll be fine. Do it before I die, okay?"

With that, the grand doors to the Summit Room burst open and Celestia walked in. The four trotted up to meet her. The door opened once more as Luna, her head down, slowly moved in as well.

It pained to see Luna still mourning, but Flaming Star smiled at her and said, "Greetings, Princess Luna. How fares you?"

Luna glanced up and said, "We are fine, thank you."

Celestia cantered up to Flaming Star and said, "I've asked the rulers of Saddle Arabia to meet us. They will be arriving shortly. We've been fortunate: the Equus and Irrum nations have agreed to meet us as well. They will be arriving within the hour."

With that, the doors to the room opened once again, and the leaders of Saddle Arabia, Ahmed and Ali Ponhammad, trotted in in, accompanied by a troop of Saddle Arabia and Equestria guards.

"Welcome," said Celestia, bowing deeply, "How is your nation faring?"

Ahmed frowned, "Fairly well, Princess Celestia. Unfortunately, you are not the only one to be having issues with this so-called Equus-Irrum alliance. We have received multiple alerts that unidentified desert-cameo pony tanks have been seen mobile in the great desert bordering our beloved nation. The alliance has not claimed responsibility for these seen mobilizations, but the tanks' markings say otherwise. We will all have to watch our step."

Celestia looked worried, but she nodded and said, "Very well. All this will come properly to light when Equus and Irrum arrive.

A few minutes later, they did. With a massive fanfare, the leaders of the Equus-Irrum alliance trotted in. For Equus, Shadow Scepter, and for Irrum, Corona Oscura. The two stallions regally cantered in, their heads held high, openly disregarding the escorting Equestria guards. They moved to their assigned places in the Summit room and sat down with alacrity. Everypony else did the same. Soon the room was complete: Cadence and Shining Armor of the Crystal Empire; Flaming Star, Twilight Sparkle, Luna, and Celestia of Equestria; Ahmed and Ali Ponhammad of Saddle Arabia; Shadow Scepter of Equus; and Corona Oscura of Irrum.

"What is the meaning of this meeting?" started off Shadow Scepter immediately, with disdain laden heavily in his tone.

Celestia looked at him coldly. "You know very well, Shadow Scepter. There was an assassination attempt upon me and my beloved sister not two days ago. We caught one of the perpetrators. When we interrogated him, he indicated that he was from the Black Hoof mercenary group. Recognize that name in any way?

Corona Oscura stroked his chin. "I am deeply apologetic, your highness," he said, "But that name in no way rings a bell. You will have to try to jog our memory a little harder, perhaps."

Celestia snorted a little in frustration, but hid it for the most part fairly well. She nodded and said, "This Black Hoof mercenary identified your so-called Equus-Irrum alliance as the clients who had paid them to kill us. How do you plead?"

Corona Oscura laughed. "Is this a courtroom? I think not. I will not plead in any form, guilty or otherwise."

Shadow Scepter slammed a hoof on the table. "Not guilty!" he roared. There was a long pause. Corona Oscura rolled his eyes and whispered to Shadow Scepter, "Old chap, let me do the talking. Your Equestrian sounds like a duck being murdered with a mallet."

Ali Ponhammed then interjected, "And what of the tanks in the great desert? Are they not another piece of evidence for your open hostility against the League of Pony Nations?"

Shadow Scepter then yelled something in Equusian. Corona Oscura facehoofed. After another moment of silence, he said, "What proof do you have that we are even sending pony tanks into the desert?"

Ahmed pulled out a little packet and tossed it to Corona Oscura. The pony caught it and opened it up. It contained pictures of the pony tanks. In each picture, the area where the Equus or Irrum insignia was visible on a tank was circled in thick, red marker. Corona Oscura smiled, "Oh, these tanks. I deeply apologize to burst your war-thirsting bubble, Ahmed Ponhammed, but these tanks are in the desert for another reason: a deadly fugitive has escaped into the desert. He has a six-star wanted lever, so we are sending our joint military to capture him."

Flaming Star raised his eyebrows. "A six-star wanted level?" he said, "From what I understand, the military might of the Equus-Irrum alliance seems a little too great for either of you to order a massive mobilization over the account of a single escaped fugitive, six-star or not."

Shadow Scepter snarled and said, "He is a very dangerous person, you understand? He must be brought to justice!"

Corona Oscura nodded. "Oh, he most certainly is."

Flaming Star nodded, "Oh, I suppose he is. So, you are saying that these pony tanks advancing on the southern border of the Saddle Arabia and the northern border of Stirrupus are simply in search of dangerous fugitives, and the Black Hoof assassination had nothing to do with you two at all?"

Corona Oscura nodded curtly. "It is. I appreciate your understanding."

Flaming Star smiled. "I doubt that so very much." With that, he pulled out a packet and tossed it to Corona Oscura. He opened this one up as well and looked at the contents. It was a contract from the Black Hoof officials, signed by both them, Shadow Scepter, and Corona Oscura.

Corona Oscura's face darkened. "How the hell did you get these?" he said. He then swore in Irrumian.

Flaming Star grinned, "I have my connections. I simply got the location of the hideout from the assassin we have in custody, I teleported there, grabbed the contract while everypony was still asleep, and teleported back. There was no issue."

Corona Oscura dropped the façade. He glared at them, "I suggest you and your little empire watch your backs, Princess Celestia. We are tired of your snobbish ways, and are willing to go to great lengths to shut your livelihood up. We will be back with an ultimatum, please don't provoke us any further. Oh, and Ahmed, we have tanks outside the front door of your little nation, don't make us use them. Let us leave, Shadow Scepter."

The two ponies stood up decisively and left in a huff. Flaming Star grimaced, that had not gone all too well. Celestia looked at the receding backs of the two leaders darkly. "This is not good," she said, "They obviously are out for hostility."

Luna nodded quietly, "They are."

Flaming Star turned to Cadence and Shining Armor, "What is your take on all of this?"

Shining Armor looked interested. "I don't know… they seem to have no interest in hurting the Crystal Empire…"

Twilight looked at them anxiously, "But you will help us if there is a war, right brother?"

There was an uncomfortable pause. Flaming Star broke the silence. "War is not something to be taken lightly," he said, "This isn't like chess game. Countless lives are at stake. All we can do now is wait for this 'ultimatum' to come, and then see what will happen after that."

Celestia got up and nodded. "Flaming Star speaks the truth. We must wait for the ultimatum."

* * *

**Note: Soooo... Some guy wants me to recount a little bit of the Brother's In Arms corps past, as well as how Luna and Rainbow Dash handled Regal Crescent's death. I decided I should actually do this, so be expecting another "Recollections" set of chapters rolling in some time. Thanks guys! Keep the feedback coming in! Oh, and by the way, do you guys want the new "Recollections" chapters to show up first, or a little more of Night Shade, Daniel, and Franklin first?**


	29. Chapter 29 - The Ultimatum

**Note: Does anypony want a map of Equestria Earth? Or a description? Just wondering...**

* * *

_Dimension: My Little Pony_

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Canterlot Castle_

_Time: Five days after the arrival of Miranda_

They weren't waiting very long for that ultimatum. The very next day, word got out that a personal courier from the alliance had arrived, carrying it. Celestia called Twilight Sparkle, Cadence, Shining Armor, Ali and Ahmed Ponhammed, and Flaming Star to the Summit room to read it out loud.

As all the pones got assembled, Celestia took center-stage and opened the letter. She cleared her throat and read, "Equus-Irrum Alliance ask the indulgence of Equestria to comply to these rules to prevent further hostility, propaganda, and violence between these respective illustrious nations. Failure to comply will instigate… will instigate… will instigate WAR!"

There was a long pause, and Twilight gasped. Celestia blinked at the paper, as if it had suddenly caught on fire. She continued reading.

"The ultimatum read as follows: One. You will destroy all forms of history regarding the Equus-Irrum war, the Irrum civil war, and the fall of the Ottopony empire. Two. You will disband the famous group called the Harmony Bearers, as their power poses a threat to the natural balance between pony nations. Three. You will recall any form of military influence from your neighbors, Bray, the Crystal Empire, and Hor Sey. Four. You will accept the arrival of important representatives from both the Equus and Irrum nations and grant them special military powers as to allow them to suppress any form of anti-alliance uprisings. Five. You will provide an explanation as to the circumstances surrounding the escape of six-star wanted fugitive Dark Hoof. Six. You will immediately dissolve any form of propaganda regarding the Equus-Irrum alliance that casts this distinguished union into the role of any form of villainy. Seven. You will provide the alliance with the proper evidence surrounding the escape Dark Hoof. Eight. You will arrest the suggestive perpetrators involved in Dark Hoof's escape; these involved are named to be Flaming Star, Twilight Sparkle, Fluttershy, Sunset Shadow, and Rainbow Dash. Nine. You will incarcerate Flaming Star and Twilight Sparkle with respects to the gravity of their felony. Ten. You will alert the alliance immediately of the execution of these previous nine conditions."

There was a long pause, broken momentarily only by a small, broken sob from Twilight. Flaming Star leaned back in his chair. "Well," he said, "I vote I show you guys how to make ballistic hydrogen bombs, and we toss twelve or twenty their way. I get to keep the crater as a memorandum though."

Luna slammed her hoof down so hard on the table that it cracked and splinter. "This is blasphemy! I agree not to a single one!"

Celestia folded up the paper, "We cannot agree to these. They obviously have no intention of not going to war, they simply gave this out so that, in the event that we lose, all future history books will make us look like the villains."

Flaming Star stroked his chin. "It is a clever setup. What we need to do now is buy a little time before alerting them that we will not agree to their ultimatum. While we beat around the bush, be can mobilize the Cloudsdale airforce, and get the Equestria Regulars up near the frozen north. We will need tank emplacements at the Freezelock pass in the mountain to keep them from sending military hardware through via the train tracks."

Celestia sighed, her face the picture of despair. "I suppose there is no other act to take but declare war then."

Ahmed nodded. "It seems that way. We ourselves will not get directly involved as of yet, but a single alliance tank so much as crosses our outermost border, we too will declare war and send troops to engage Irrum's territory."

Twilight got up and said, "We will need to see what is going on negotiation-wise between the alliance, Trotton, Spurdan, and Bray. If any of these nations have agreed to aid the alliance, they will have direct passage to the frozen north without any hindrance."

Flaming Star got up as well. "Twilight is right," he said, "We need to reach out to at least Bray. If we can get military assurance that they will not join the alliance, we will be able slow their attacks by some extent."

Celestia nodded. "This is what we will do. We will stall with the answer to the ultimatum. While this is happening, we will send a representative or two to Bray to negotiate. We will also mobilize Equestria's royal army."

"Who would we send as representatives?" asked Twilight.

Celestia smiled. "I was thinking Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Discord."

Twilight's mouth dropped. "What?" she said, "Why?"

"Rarity is an excellent speaker," said Celestia, "And Discord is a very powerful dimensional traveler. He may not be the best traveler, but he owes Rarity and the Harmony Bearers, and he should be more than happy to watch over her while she negotiates. And Pinkie Pie… they both could use a little laughter."

Twilight's eyes were wide as she said, "But what about me?"

"You need to be here to help oversee mobilization," replied Celestia. She then turned to Flaming Star, "You seem to know what you are doing with the tank emplacements. I put you in charge of securing the Freezelock. Will Sunset be of any help to you?"

Flaming Star shook his head. "No," he said, "As powerful as Sunset is, I think he has truly become a pacifist. I do not think he will want to be involved in any of this. I will take Twilight with me."

Celestia nodded. "Make it so." She turned to Cadence and Shining Armor. "Will I be able to count on support from the Crystal Empire in any time of need?"

Cadence looked worried. Finally she said, "I think… I think so. But remember, we owe it to our people to keep them safe. We will in no way put them in unnecessary danger."

Celestia bowed her head. "We understand. We thank you for your time. Ahmed, I believe you should return to your people, these are dark times."

Ahmed nodded, and he and Ali left quickly. Flaming Star spread his wings. "We need to oversee mobilization immediately," he said, "We can only withhold our reply to the alliance for about two days."

With that, Flaming Star and Twilight left, leaving Celestia and Luna alone.

"What will become of Equestria, sister?" asked Luna in the silence that followed.

Celestia bowed her head, "I do not know. We most certainly are facing grave times, but we must be strong."

"Ever since the arrival of Sunset Shadow, we have not had even the slightest trouble from the other nations."

"I know, something is not right, but we have to time to ponder it."

With that, the Sun and Moon sisters left the Summit Room.

* * *

_Dimension: My Little Pony_

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Outskirts of Ponyville_

_Time: Five days after the arrival of Miranda_

Just shrouded by bushes, a portal opened and black Pegasus pony with an electric green mane trotted out. He immediately fell over, tried to get up, and fell over again. After a bit, he stood up on all fours, wobbled a bit, and steadied himself. He looked around and then said through a telepathic intercom, "Well… I don't see any fire. Are you sure it's the right place?"

Daniel's voice came back, "I am sure. What do you look like?"

Night Shade looked at himself and rolled his eyes, "I look like… a moron. This form is absolutely ridiculous. Can I shape-shift out of it?"

"No," Daniel's voice replied, "If the planet isn't destroyed, then there is probably life. Your body has taken the form of this dimension's main sentient species; we don't want to seem out of the norm."

Night Shade shook a hoof. "Great. Okay, I'm going to quickly see what is going on in the world. Give me three minutes."

With that, Night Shade sped up his molecules and blasted around the world, checking every nook and cranny of the earth to see what damage Legion had wrought. When he came back, he was really worried.

"Are you SURE this is the right dimension?" he said three minutes later as he returned to his arrival spot.

"I am SURE this is the right dimension," replied Daniel, "Why? What's the matter?"

"Well," said Night Shade, "I don't see anything wrong with it. There is literally no destruction anywhere. AT ALL. EVER."

There was a pause. Finally Franklin's voice came over the intercom as he said, "Is there lots of pink? How about rainbows?"

Night Shade rolled his eyes, "Yes there are a lot of colors, and pink seems to be a favorite color amongst some, but that is only the case in this specific land. What should I do?"

Daniel replied over the link, "Stay there and blend in. When Franklin and I finish securing our location, we will join you to see what is going down ourselves."

Franklin's voice then said, "WHAT? No, I am NOT going there. What if I have a stroke?"

There was a quick scuffle over the intercom, and then Franklin said, "Fine, whatever, cool."

Daniel then said, "Okay, hang in there. Will you be fine?"

Night Shade, who was staring indignantly at his reflection in a nearby stream said, "Yeah… yeah I will be fine."

"Cool," said Daniel, "Remember, when in Rome…"

"… Cause a fire," came in Franklin's just as Night Shade was going to say: do as the Romans.

There was a really long moment of silence. Finally Daniel said, "Franklin… you weren't the one who cause the Great Fire of Rome on 64 Anno Domini in the Orbis Terrarum XII dimension were you?"

There was another really long moment of silence. Finally Franklin replied, "Hey! The entire planet was going to go during World War III in 1989 Anno Domini anyway! Besides, I didn't think my experiment with a pre-classical ceramic barbeque would go awry like that anyway! Not that many people were hurt!"

Night Shade interrupted, "Wow, okay. I'm going to be signing out and seeing what I can see while you two figure out stuff. I'm out."

With that, Night Shade terminated the link. Taking a deep breath, Night Shade trotted to the nearest sign of civilization: Ponyville.

* * *

_Dimension: My Little Pony_

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Ponyville_

_Time: Five days after the arrival of Miranda_

"Oh darling, that would be WONDERFUL!" exclaimed Rarity as Twilight informed her of her new task, "I've always wanted to travel abroad. Bray has always been one for the classical era, how elegant! This will be wonderful!"

Twilight smiled, "I'm glad you agree. Remember, you will be escorted to speak to the Bray senate, and you will need to discuss the situation between us and the alliance. You can go shopping later."

Rarity nodded, "Of course, darling. However, are any of you going?"

Twilight pulled a face. "Weeellll… yes. You're going with Pinkie Pie and Discord."

Rarity just blinked. "Pinkie Pie… and Discord."

Twilight nodded. "Celestia said so. I'm not sure why she chose Pinkie Pie, but Discord is a powerful dimensional traveler, and he owes enough to us that he will willingly protect you from any harm."

Rarity groaned, "Very well, I just hope I don't have to bring them on my shopping sprees… or my elegant gatherings… or my social gatherings… or my senate speeches… or my-"

"Yes, yes," interrupted Twilight, "I understand. They are there to be your friends, not to ruin your life, just remember that. You will be leaving within the hour."

Rarity's mouth dropped. "WITHIN THE HOUR? Why, that isn't ever enough time!"

Twilight dipped her head apologetically. "I understand that it isn't really enough time, but we have no time. We are postponing our refusal of the alliance ultimatum for as long as possible, but we cannot do it for long. We need everything in motion as soon as possible."

Rarity sighed, "Very well, dear. Let us go, I must get ready!"

Twilight smiled and hugged her, "Good luck Rarity!"

With that, Twilight turned around and quickly galloped to Sugar Cube corner where she found Pinkie Pie.

"Hey Twily!" exclaimed Pinkie, "Whatcha doin'?"

"Pinkie," said Twilight, "I need you to go with Rarity and Discord to Bray to discuss peace talks with them."

"Okie Dokie Lokie! When we goin'?"

Twilight smiled, "Within the hour."

"Gotcha! I'm ready now! Do you want a cupcake?"

Meanwhile, Flaming Star was wandering Canterlot Castle, looking for Discord.

"Stupid Discord, where is he when you need him?" muttered Flaming Star as he continued to trot down the grand halls. Suddenly he tripped and fell over. Glancing up, he saw whose cloven hoof he had tripped over… Discord.

"Oh dear, I didn't see you there firstborn," said Discord in mock worry. "My deepest apologies."

Flaming Star leapt up and said, "Discord, I have a job for you."

Discord pointed at himself, "Me? Why, what is it?"

"I need you to watch over Rarity and Pinkie Pie as they negotiate some issues with the Bray senate."

Discord began to laugh. After a bout of laughing, he said, "Oh my, what exactly are these issues? I mean, Bray is a nation of mules! They obviously have no idea what is even going on outside their borders!" Discord doubled over as he continued to laugh.

Flaming Star raised his eyebrows and waited patiently for Discord to stop. Finally, he said, "Yes, we understand. However, if you were somehow unaware, we are about to go to war with Equus and Irrum."

Discord's laughter caught and died in his throat. He looked at Flaming Star. "Oh… Well, I need to watch over Rarity and Pinkie Pie? Why?"

"You are a dimensional traveler, one of the most powerful; your protection would be well needed as they are discussing matters with the Bray senate."

Discord sighed and nodded his head, "Oh, very well… I will do just that."

Flaming Star bowed his head. "Thank you Discord. The train to Bray is leaving within the hour, so you will need to be ready to trail it as soon as possible. I will be leaving you now to find Rainbow Dash. Remember how much you owe the Harmony Bearers, don't let me down."

With that, Flaming Star turned and teleported away to Ponyville.

* * *

**Note: An invisible trophy to whoever can tell me what two wars this crisis is based off of... Anyway, don't forget all the R&R stuff! By the way, I understand that you guys are still really excited to see the BIA corps meet up, so here is what I am going to do: if you PM me or something before 7:00 pm PST telling me what Franklin Montgomery would do if he was trapped in a small room with Pinkie Pie, I will put up the next chapter (specifically devoted to the BIA corps and them meeting with the other guys) at 7:30 pm PST. Sound good? Just let me know...**


	30. Chapter 30 - The Meeting (Part 1)

**Note: Okay! So, I am posting this early because a few choice (and thus, by extension, totally awesome) people wanted this to show up a little early. I will, however, lay off updating anything tomorrow (a mayhap the day after tomorrow) so anyone who is behind can catch up, and so I can restock my doc manager again.**

* * *

_Dimension: My Little Pony_

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Ponyville_

_Time: Five days after the arrival of Miranda_

"Wow…" muttered Night Shade as he slowly trotted into Ponyville. He looked around, and was about to move to find a map to the town when he was tackled by a certain pink earth pony.

"Hey! What's going on? Who are you? Oooohhh… You're new. IknowthatbecauseIknoweveryponyinponyvilleandsinceIdon'tknowyouthatmustmeanyou'renew! Hello! I'm Pinkie Pie! Who are you?"

Night Shade gaped and blinked at the pink party pony who was now hopping around him.

"Er… hello? Who… are you?" he managed to say.

"I just said silly! I'm Pinkie Pie! Sundown! Twilight's House! Don't be late!" With that, Pinkie Pie began to bounce away.

"Late for what?" Night Shade yelled out.

"Your welcome-to-Ponyville party!"

With that, Pinkie Pie disappeared around a corner. Night Shade got to his hoofs and shook his head. Twilight's house? Where was that? All the more reason to get a map, he supposed. With that, he went off to Town Square.

The more he walked through town, the more he doubted the demon Malpas's information. This place in no way had been destroyed by Legion's armies. His mind darkening with these thoughts, Night Shade trotted into Mayor Mare's office.

"Hello, young pony. What can I do for you?"

Night Shade smiled a winning smile and said, "Oh, I'm just here for a map, thank you. Are you the mayor?"

The mayor smiled back and said, "Indeed I am. Are you new here?"

Night Shade nodded. "I am. Just moved her from… er… Are these the maps? Thanks!"

He picked one up, and quickly left.

"I've got to think of a good back-story for myself if I want to blend in here."

He flipped open the map and looked it through. After a few moments of scrutinizing it, he determined where this "Twilight's Library" was and looked at the sky. He still had a good few hours before sundown. He looked around, he supposed he would just have to bide his time somewhere. Suddenly, a ringing noise went off in his head, the telepathic intercom was coming back up. Looking around frantically, Night Shade dove into a bush and accepted the link.

"Hey, look, I'm busy," he said, "I can't risk looking like a lunatic here."

"Yeah, cool, but that would be lying otherwise," rang out Franklin's voice.

"Stop it Franklin," said Daniel's voice, "Night Shade, what have you learned so far about that place?"

"Well," replied Night Shade, "I have no idea where Malpas got his information, but this place in no way has been destroyed."

"That isn't good," said Franklin, "Malpas was too scared to be lying, obviously he must have been misinformed."

"I don't know how that is possible," said Daniel, "I mean, he's an arch-demon, all his information comes straight… from… Oh no."

Night Shade rolled his eyed, "Oh, no what?"

"Malpas, as I said, is an arch-demon," replied Daniel, "this means he get his information straight from the telepathic hive-mind, which gets its information straight from Legion, Abbadon, Lord Diablo, Baal, and the Grand Devil. Lord Diablo and Baal are dead, and Abbadon was never involved in any of the Grand Devil's plans. This means…"

"This means Legion purposefully lied to the hive-mind, and thus, by extension, the Grand Devil himself," finished Night Shade, "What could make him do that?"

"Probably nothing," said Franklin, "Which is the most worrying part. Legion is the freaking commander-in-chief of the whole infernal realm, if something forced him into lying… well, that's just not possible."

Night Shade shifted in the bush uncomfortably, "This is reaallllyyy bad. Now that we know Legion has lied to the Grand Demon, now what? Where would Legion be? Where would he go?"

"Who ya' talkin' to?" a voice rang out behind Night Shade.

Night Shade gave a surprised whinny and tumbled out of the bush. As he did, he conjured up a cellphone out of thin air and quickly picked it up.

"Oh, er, I was talking to a friend," said Night Shade as he turned to the source of the voice. It was Apple Blossom, Sweetie Bell, and Scootaloo.

"Oh… Hi! I'm Apple Blossom!" said Apple Bloom, "Who are you?"

"Oh, er… I'm Night Shade."

"Who are you talking to?" said Franklin over the intercom, "Oh no! You're cover has been compromised by little ponies! Attack! Attack!"

"Shut up Franklin," whispered Night Shade, he then looked at the Cutie Mark Crusaders and said, "How… how are you three?"

"Oh, we're just fine, thank you!" said Sweetie Bell brightly, "we were off crusading for cutie marks when we saw you in this bush!"

"What's a cutie mark?" asked Night Shade.

Sweetie Bell's pupils shrunk. "Oh no… it's on your flank. Do we have to explain this to everypony?!"

"Oh no, I totally knew that," said Night Shade, grinning, "I was just checking to see if you guys remember. A pop quiz, if you will."

Scootaloo looked at Night Shade's cutie mark, it was a blue lightning bolt encircled with an elaborate eternity circle. "Oh man… you're a dimensional traveler aren't you?"

"How come we are always a runnin' into you ponies! Are you ALL comin' here?" exclaimed Apple Bloom.

"No, I am so totally not a dimensional traveler, in fact, what is that anyway? Nope, no travelers around here, I'm just a pony minding my own business," said Night Shade quickly as he backed away.

Sweetie Bell blinked at him. Then she pointed behind him and yelled, "Oh no! It's Abbadon! He's come to get us! Run!"

Night Shade instinctively conjured up a bolt of kinetic energy and hurled it off behind him. It harmlessly disappeared over the horizon. He turned around sheepishly. "Oh… er, that was magic?"

Scootaloo facehoofed. Night Shade sighed in exasperation, "Okay fine, I'm a dimensional traveler, but I come in peace! Honest! Um… if you don't mind me asking, how do you three know about travelers?"

Apple Blossom smiled, "Oh, we know a mite about them! First we found Sunset Shadow, he was the first traveler to show up, then Flaming Star, then Regal Crescent, then Miranda! Sunset was later followed by that scary demon Abbadon, but Sunset defeated him. Then another giant demon came along, his name was Legion, but Regal Crescent killed him! Sadly… Regal Crescent didn't make it."

There was a moment of silence. Then Night Shade said, "This Regal Crescent… he KILLED Legion?"

"Killed who?" exclaimed Daniel over the intercom. Daniel lifted the phone up to his ears and said, "I can't talk right now, buddy, I need to go." With that, he made a show of turning off the cellphone before terminating the telepathic link. He then looked at Apple Blossom, "Are you saying Legion is dead?"

Scootaloo pulled a face. "We didn't see it, everyone was evacuated, but eventually Sunset told us that Ponyville was safe again, and that Legion was gone. That was about a year ago now."

"Um… woah… I can't believe it… Er, so, um, who is Sunset? Is that his name?" said Night Shade, who was still trying to wrap his head around the death of Legion.

"Oh, his actual name is Joseph Torrus," said Scootaloo happily.

Immediately Night Shade became alert. "Torrus… is still alive? Are you sure?"

Scootaloo nodded. "He sure is! He is a great friend!"

Night Shade just shook his head. "Okay… my head is near exploding now. So, I'm almost dare not ask, who is this Flaming Star?"

Apple Bloom scratched the back of her head with a hoof. "Oh, er… what was his name again? Somethin' weird and long and the likes…"

Sweetie Bell gave her a playful shove, "I know right? I remember it now though, I think it was, er, Abbamal 'Jamie' Sethy or something…"

Night Shade's ears pricked up. "Abimael 'James' Sethson?"

Sweetie Bell nodded vigorously. "That's the one! Abimael… wow, that is a mouthful. I'm so glad he changed his name to Flaming Star."

Night Shade was teetering on the edge of feinting. This was too much. According to these three ponies, Abbadon had been defeated again, Legion was dead, and both Joseph and James were still alive… Wow.

Night Shade shook his head as he tried to clear it. "Wow… just… wow… I cannot believe it. Um, could you three take me to one of them?"

Sweetie Bell frowned. "I don't know… they've been quite busy so far. Something about trouble with other nations at the moment. Flaming is looking for Rainbow Dash… I'm sure we don't want to interrupt him. I don't know where Sunset is. Hey, do you want to hang out with us?"

Night Shade blinked. "Um… okay… I suppose hanging out with you three for a bit wouldn't hurt. I really do need to figure out what is going on. Give me a second, I need to call my buddy, er, Bob, back."

With that, Night Shade pretended to turn the phone on again and reconnected the telepathic link. "Hey, we have a problem," he said.

"There's always a problem," said Franklin.

"Shut up Franklin," said Daniel, "What is it, Night?"

"According to some ponies I've been talking to, dimensional travelers have been here before recently."

There was a short pause, then Daniel said, "Okay… weird. Who were they? Do you know?"

"That's where it gets weird," said Night Shade, "The dimensional travelers who are here are James and Joseph."

There was another pause, but this one was a little longer. "Ooookkkaaayyyy… weird. Anything else life-altering like that piece of information?"

"Unfortunately yes," said Night Shade, "Legion is dead, and has been dead for over a year."

There was one last pause, this one twice as long as the previous one. "Well… I'm going to have to think about that one," said Daniel, "Could you find a way to verify all that information while we secure our new base?"

"Will do leader," said Night Shade, "I was just about to hang out with the three ponies. See you later."

"Wait… what?" interjected Franklin as Night Shade began to disconnect, "Hang out with ponies? What-"

Night Shade rolled his eyes and closed the phone as he disconnected the link. He then turned to the CMC, who were looking at him curiously and grinned. "Okay! I have the rest of the day. I have to go to some 'welcome-to-Ponyville' party thingy at, um, Twilight's library or something at sundown though."

Sweetie Bell winked. "Pinkie Pie found you, didn't she? We know where that is! We can take you there when it is time!"

Night Shade nodded his head. "Thanks! Soooo… what's there to do around here?"

"Let me tell you, Night Shade!" said Scootaloo, "There is so much to do here! Let's start with Sweet Apple Acres!"

With that, the four trotted off, the Cutie Mark Crusaders talking to a dumbfounded Night Shade faster than rain fell from the sky during a deluge.

For the next couple of hours, the CMC showed Night Shade all the best hangout spots, where the best milkshakes were, and where to hide from Rarity if you messed up one of her dress designs. Night Shade at first was simply confused with everything that was going on, but he eventually got the hang of it all, and actually began to enjoy himself.

* * *

_Dimension: Looking For Group_

_Planet: Earth_

_Specific Location: The forest of Nestorep_

_Time: A couple of days after the arrival of the Brother's In Arms corps_

Daniel turned to Franklin as the telepathic intercom link was terminated with Night Shade.

"This is bad," he said.

"I'll say," replied Franklin, who was cleaning his sniper rifle, "It looks like we have to sit here making sure we don't get ambushed in the future by demons while Night gets to prance about in a rainbow-filled land with a bunch of new pony friends! I mean, talk about unfair!"

Daniel rolled his eyes. "No, I'm talking about this issue with Legion."

Franklin nodded. "Ah, yes, that is a problem. It looks like not only did Legion lie about destroying the dimension, he also died. And since he was the only one who could possibly lie to the hive mind about this situation, we can only assume he double-crossed the Grand Demon just before dying at the hand of these ponies. That doesn't make sense, what could be so important to Legion that he would indirectly protect the creatures that killed him by lying to his greatest superior?"

Daniel returned the nod. "Exactly," he said, "That is what worries me. Is it possible that something coerced Legion into doing this? So much so that he cared not even at the doorstep of death what would happen to him, only to carry out this new… plan?"

Franklin finished cleaning the sniper rifle and stood up. He balanced the thing on his shoulder. "Yepper! That's what it all looks like. And what about this issue with Joseph Torrus and the firstborn still being alive?"

"That's weird too," said Daniel as he continued to shore up the camp with photon-reflecting energy shields and dark matter pitfalls, "We were told by traveler database that they had died. This means that the database is either inaccurate, or being tampered with."

"You know what I think?" said Franklin, who was always more than happy to state his opinion, "I think we need to get over to that My Little Pony universe, cootie filled or not, and figure what the hell is going on. If Torrus or the firstborn is there, we will be able to get answers from them."

Daniel, not taking his eyes off the lightning wire he was conjuring in a large perimeter, then said, "I agree. Let's finish the last of these defenses and get there. We have no time to lose. If something is going on where Legion is being forced to lie to his superior and something is tampering with the traveler database, then we have a major multiverse upset coming on, and we need to figure out when it is going to get worse."

Franklin snorted. "I think it's already 'getting worse,' Daniel," he said, "Remember the weird shapeshifting, power-adapting creatures from another multiverse? That was where the worse got worse, the worse is just being upgraded to worst now. Soon it will be more worst, then most worst, then most most worst…"

"That's right, those creatures," said Daniel, "Well, we are sort of in luck then. If the firstborn is there, perhaps we together can shed light on what is going on now."

Franklin winked, "Sure you can! We all know how well you two get along!"

Daniel sighed. "Yeah, well, we have no other choice. Let's get going."

Franklin conjured up a gas mask and placed it on his face. He then gave Daniel a thumbs-up. Daniel rolled his eyes, seized the mask, vaporized it, and opened a portal to the My Little Pony dimension.

Franklin rolled his eyes back at Daniel and jumped through the portal. Giving the place one last look-over, Daniel too turned to the portal and jumped through.

* * *

_Dimension: My Little Pony_

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Ponyville_

_Time: Five days after the arrival of Miranda_

"You just have to watch out for Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon," said Sweetie Bell as she trotted along with Night Shade, Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo, "Those two are trouble. Are you sure you're not allowed to even use a LITTLE of your powers on them?"

Night Shade snorted, half-amused, half-annoyed. "Sorry, Sweetie Bell," he said with a wink, "No-can-do."

"Oh! And here is Twilight's Library!" said Scootaloo as the approached the large tree-cottage, "This is where Miranda is staying. I think Fluttershy is in there as well! Let's see if she is in!"

Apple Bloom rapped a hoof against the door and said, "Hello?"

The door opened. It was Sunset. "Oh! Hey Apple Bloom! Hey Scootaloo! Hey Sweetie Bell! Who is this?"

Night Shade recognized Joseph Torrus. His pupils shrunk, and he flattened his ears. Despite the rumors of Torrus turning his back on crime, the atrocities he had committed three years ago still held a terrible place in his most traveler's hearts.

"This is Night Shade!" said Sweetie Bell brightly as she gave Sunset a huge hug.

Sunset smiled kindly at him. "Well, hello Night Shade!" he said, "It is so nice to meet you! I'm Sunset Shadow."

Night Shade looked at Sunset curiously as he gave each of the CMC a hug. Was this the Torrus he had last seen, burning down a city? Impossible.

"Torrus?" he said, "Are you really changed?"

Sunset blinked. He then noticed the cutie mark with the eternity circle. "You're a dimensional traveler."

Night Shade chuckled nervously. "Um… yeah."

Suddenly Sunset recognized Night Shade. "Oh my god! Night Shade! YOU'RE ALIVE!"

With that, Sunset seized Night Shade in a hug. "The Paradox prodigy! It's so nice to see you again! I can't believe this! This is wonderful news!"

Night Shade gaped in surprise. Joseph Torrus was actually happy to see him?

"Um… hi. I really didn't expect all this. Are you really changed?"

Sunset winked. "I sure am. I have a house, a family, and friends. This is literally the best place possible for any pony, or any person. Where is Daniel? Weren't you chilling with him last?"

Night Shade nodded. "Yes, I was. I am actually quite relieved to see you, Torrus, I thought we were the last good travelers!"

Sunset returned the nod, "And I thought Miranda, the firstborn, and I were the only good travelers. This is good news indeed."

Night Shade smiled, feeling relief creep into his heart. He sighed, "Well, that is good. By the way, is Legion really dead?"

Sunset nodded again. "He is. He is dead. However, have you ever heard of the operation called Astrol?"

Night Shade frowned. "I unfortunately did. We dragged it out of an arch-demon. So… you think Legion really double-crossed the Grand Devil?"

Sunset stroked his chin, "I think so… But enough about this! We can discuss this later, I think you have some friends who want to keep giving you the grand tour. Keep close to them, they will prove to be the best of friends any pony could have."

Night Shade was loath to leave the conversation hanging, but the smiles of the CMC convinced him otherwise.

"I'll be back at sundown, there's a pinkie party going on here in my honor, you know," called Night Shade as the CMC dragged him away.

Sunset just grinned. As Night Shade disappeared around a corner, Sunset turned around and trotted back inside of Twilight's house.

"This is interesting," he murmured, "I wonder if Daniel will show up, and maybe even Franklin… Perhaps there is a little bit more good in the multiverse than I previously had hoped… I hope to God that it is… I can only hope…"

Even before Sunset had finished those thoughts, a portal on the other side of town, just outside of the Everfree forest, opened up, and Daniel and Franklin walked through.

* * *

**Note: The meeting of the dimensional travelers is drawing close! The suspense! Anyhow, keep that feedback coming in!**


	31. Chapter 31 - The Meeting (Part 2)

**Note: Hey everyone! So, I know I said I would wait a couple of days to post the next chapter, but I decided to post it today anyway as a form of an apology for something. What is that something, you may ask? Well... it is because I HAVE BEEN SPELLING APPLE BLOOM'S NAME WRONG THIS ENTIRE TIME. How is that even possible? Anyway, one awesome guy caught it and pointed it out, so I went through all my chapters and fixed the errors. Please forgive me for my extended bout of incompetence and don't forget to R&R!**

* * *

_Dimension: My Little Pony_

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Everfree Forest_

_Time: Five days after the arrival of Miranda_

Franklin looked down at his pony form, blanched, and immediately shape-shifted back to a human form. The form stuck out in the surroundings like a sore thumb, but it seemed to fit Franklin just fine.

Daniel, on the other hoof, seemed to like his new form fine: he was a dragon, twice the size of Princess Celestia, with black spikes, a grey underbelly, and red scales covering his powerful body. He grinned, which looked quite fearsome on his new face.

"This is pretty awesome," said Daniel, admiring his claws.

Franklin transformed back into a pony, conjured up smart phone, took a selfie, and then changed back into a human. He then looked at Daniel, "I look like a freaking idiot. Why do you always get it good?"

Daniel rolled his eyes and snorted out a blast of fire. "Yeah, the tragedy. Anyways, we need to get moving. Night Shade is in that town over there."

Franklin grimaced. "Great, from what I understand, that place is inhabited by ponies. We obviously are not ponies. You are a dragon, I am a human, we in no way will blend in."

"Then I suppose we should both shape shift into pony forms," said Daniel.

There was a pause. "Screw this," said the two in unison, and they strolled off to Ponyville.

"You know, it would be a lot cooler if we were flying," said Franklin, giving Daniel a side-long glance.

Daniel, who didn't take his eyes off the town, replied, "You put one foot on my scales, and I will pound you into the ground."

Franklin shook his head. "My, someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed, er, nest today. Do dragons have naturally soured dispositions?"

"Shut up," said Daniel. Soon the forest had cleared around them, and they began to near the border. No pony had yet noticed them. Suddenly, there was a cry of distress. Cheeriliee, who had been on her way to the Ponyville schoolhouse, noticed the two. She stood stock still, quivering.

Franklin strolled up to her. He gave her a flourishing bow, took a hoof and kissed it and said, "Greetings fine madam! How are you on this fine day?"

Cheeriliee feinted. Franklin crossed his arms indignantly. "Well look at that! No respect…"

Daniel chuckled, "I am sure we're a sight. But I'm not changing forms."

Franklin rolled his eyes. "Well, neither am I. Soooooo… I guess we will have to get used to ponies having heart attacks around us. Heh, its kind of like that punching zoo I once visited in the Explosm dimension."

Daniel gaped at him. "Punching… zoo… What?"

Suddenly, voices from afar alerted them that a group of ponies were approaching. Franklin and Daniel glanced at each other, nodded, and dove into a bush. It was totally obvious Daniel wasn't hiding very well, as his whole back stuck out of the foliage, but they didn't move either way. They peeked through the branches at the group coming around the corner: It was Night Shade and the Cutie Mark Crusaders.

"This is the way to our schoolhouse!" exclaimed Sweetie Bell to Night Shade, who seemed to, for once, be completely enjoying his company, "Our teacher is Cheeriliee! She is wonderful!"

They then noticed Cheeriliee, who was still unconscious. The four stopped and looked at her. Night Shade quickly trotted up and checked her pulse, and pulled back an eyelid. He then turned to them, "She feinted out of fear. Is there anything scary around here that I should know about?"

Apple Bloom shook her head, "No! I ain't seen nothing around here scary enough to take out Cheeriliee like that!"

"Except for that poorly hiding dragon over there," said Scootaloo casually.

Daniel immediately tried to sink lower to the ground, but it was too late. The CMC and Night Shade were over there in a flash.

Daniel sighed and got up. "I am a fearsome dragon! Run for your lives!" he said halfheartedly.

Night Shade just looked at him. "Are dragons here… always like this?"

"I dunno," said Scootaloo, "According to Twilight, we know next to nothing about them!"

Then Franklin got up to take a photo of Daniel with his new smart phone. Everyone looked at him.

"Oh… hi!" he said awkwardly, "What, you guys don't have humans here? Um… awwwkkwaarrrdd…"

Night Shade recognized Franklin immediately and facehoofed. "You just couldn't take a pony form, could you?" he muttered.

Franklin pointed at himself defensively. "Hey, looking like a cute little pony is unnerving kid. Especially with all this weird 'rainbows and unicorns' theme going on here."

Night Shade looked at Daniel, who had given up looking fearsome, "Nice look Daniel."

Daniel winked, "I know right. So, who are these three?"

The Cutie Mark Crusaders were just looking at them all conversing with awe. However, when Daniel addressed them, they smiled and waved. "We're the Cutie Mark Crusaders!" exclaimed Sweetie Bell. "Pleased to meet you!"

Daniel dipped his head. "Likewise. Now, Night Shade, can you take us to one of the other dimensional travelers?"

Night Shade frowned. "What… like that?"

Franklin glared at him. "Oh no… I am NOT going to look like some mutated horse! I am staying like this!"

Daniel stroked his chin. "Should I change? I really don't want to cause too much alarm."

"Oh no! Mr. Dragon!" exclaimed Apple Bloom, "You're fine the way you are!"

There was a pause. "Could we ride you?" said Scootaloo, giving him a winning smile.

Daniel pricked up his ears, and glared at them. There was a another elongated moment of silence as neither party broke eye contact.

Finally… "Fine," growled Daniel, "Just this once."

Franklin began to laugh so hard that he almost fell over. Then Daniel smacked him across the face with his tail and he really did tumble heads-over-heels.

"Well, look on the bright side," said Night Shade as he helped the CMC onto Daniel's back, "when we go into town, Sweetie Bell, Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo will make you look less like a threat."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Let it never be said that I wasn't a fun guy when it came down to it," muttered Daniel.

Franklin, rubbing his head ruefully, got up and said, "Yeah, I suppose so. Let's get moving before any more weird horses start feinting."

Night Shade shouldered Cheeriliee onto his back and turned to Daniel. "This way," he said, "I'll take you to Joseph Torrus."

Franklin blinked. He then said, "Um… Torrus? I know the rumors reported that he had reformed, but don't you think he would still be a little… um… azycay in the eadhay?

Night Shade shook his head vigorously, "No way. His change is so drastic that it is almost unnerving. He's pretty nice now!"

"Our best friend!" interjected Sweetie Bell from atop Daniel's back.

"Well, great," said Daniel, still feeling a little apprehensive, "Let's get a move on, we're losing daylight."

With that, the group moved off into town. Almost immediately, they ran into Pinkie Pie, Twilight, Rarity, Spike, and Discord, who were on their way to the Ponyville train station.

The two groups stared at each other. "Sup." Said Franklin.

Rarity feinted.

"Sweetie Bell! Scootaloo! Apple Bloom! Who are you with?" exclaimed Twilight in surprise.

Sweetie Bell waved to her happily. "Oh, these are our friends! The pony is Night Shade! He's a dimensional traveler! These two…"

"These two are my friends," interjected Night Shade, "the dragon is Daniel. This… um… human, is Franklin. I apologize for our untimely appearance, as it seems you are all off to somewhere."

"Oooh, a dimensional traveler, how quaint," said Discord, who flashed out of existence, and then flashed in again next to Night Shade. "Do you know who I am, perchance?"

Daniel was the one who answered this. "You're Discordious, I believe," he said, snorting out a short blast of flame.

Discord bowed. "I am. Do my ears deceive me, or am I speaking to the great Daniel Dragoon?"

Daniel nodded his great scaly head. "You are."

Discord winked, "Then I can bet there are probably zero demons alive in all the surrounding dimensions then."

Daniel smiled a little. "I suppose not."

"Waitwaitwaitwaitwait…" said Twilight, "You two… know each other?"

Daniel nodded again. "Yes, Discord usually stays here, but he did show up to aid me totally on accident during a firefight two hundred years ago."

Franklin looked at the sky and interrupted, "I'm sorry to ruin this heart-felt reunion," he said, "but if you four are going to be going off somewhere…"

Spike, who had originally not been able to see behind all of the luggage he was carrying, dropped it and saw Daniel. His mouth dropped. "Wow!" he exclaimed, "Another dragon!"

He ran up to him and looked up in awe. "You look awesome! Are you from the dragon herds of the north?"

Daniel smiled down at the dragon baby and said, "I'm sorry, but no. I'm actually a dimensional traveler, but my body chose to take this shape when I arrived here."

Twilight looked at Franklin, meanwhile, and said, "You're a human!"

Franklin raised his eyebrows, and began to inch away as Twilight approached him. "Um, yay? Great. Soooo… how do you know about that?"

"I was one too myself once," she exclaimed, "I went to another world, where I was transformed into a human, and met all these other humans!"

Franklin continued to back away, pointedly dodging Twilight's attempts to prod him. "That's amazing! Could you stop doing that?"

Twilight blushed, "Oh… I'm sorry."

Franklin rolled his eyes. "Think nothing of it. Are you going to go off catch a plane, or train, or cab or something now?

Pinkie nodded, "We most certainly are! Oh! Nighty-Wighty! You're cake and balloons are waiting at Twilight's Library now!"

Daniel glanced at Night Shade. "Nighty-Wighty? Okay…"

Night Shade facehoofed again. "Yay, thanks Pinkie Pie. I was actually heading there now to see Sunset Shadow."

Twilight looked at Cheeriliee, who was starting to awaken. Night Shade gingerly set her down. Suddenly the magenta pony rocketed up. "Dragon! In the dungeon! I thought you might want to know… Huh?"

Daniel smiled at her in the gentlest way he could possibly manage. "Sorry about that. I forgot that I look terrifying."

"He means awesomely terrifying," corrected Franklin, who helped her up, "As for me, just consider me more awesome, that's usually how things go down around here."

Cheeriliee blinked at him. "What are you?"

Franklin gasped in mock dismay as he said, "What am I? What am I? I am a human, and I have a name! My name is Franklin Montgomery, thank you madam."

Cheeriliee, though she was still a tad bit flustered, caught on and gave him a smile. "Pleased to meet you, Mr. Montgomery."

Franklin lifted one of her hoofs and kissed it elegantly. "Please, mademoiselle, call me… Frank."

Night Shade began to laugh, and Daniel snorted out a blast of flame. Franklin felt the heat of the blast as it just skimmed past his head. He released Cheeriliee's hoof and straightened up. "Well… that's my signal to go. I do apologize for any inconvenience on my part."

Daniel wrapped his mighty tail around Franklin and dragged him off as he thundered slowly off into town.

"We really have to get going. When you wake up that white pony, pretend no one she knows was riding me. In fact, pretend we never existed," said Daniel grumpily.

Franklin waved, and mouthed the words "call me" to Cheeriliee as Daniel dragged him away.

Pinkie Pie waved enthusiastically back at the receding figures of the other group as she yelled, "Have fun causing total havoc in Ponyville! Don't forget to write!"

Twilight rolled her eyes as she helped Rarity up.

"Wha… what happened Twilight?" Rarity said as she shook her head.

Pinkie smiled at her. "Oh nothing, just a large, giant, humongous, colossal dragon-"

"What Pinkie means is that we saw nothing of importance," said Twilight, covering Pinkie's mouth with a hoof, "Right Discord?"

Discord placed a paw over his heart as he said, "Perish the thought! We saw absolutely nothing on our way here. Just some birds that looked remarkably like the Cutie Mark Crusaders riding a dragon! Nothing out of the ordinary."

The hint flew completely over Rarity's head, fortunately, and she nodded. "Oh dear, I have no idea what came over me. Anyway, let us be off, darlings! We have a train to catch! To Bray!"

With that, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Discord began to move off at a lively pace towards Ponville's train station. Twilight slowed down and let Spike catch up.

"Wow… a dragon!" exclaimed Spike in muffled tones as he carried Rarity's luggage, "I can't wait to see him again!"

Twilight smiled, "I'm sure you can't, Spike. They should be at my place when we get back. Hopefully Sunset can keep every pony under control until we get back."

With that, they all trotted off to see Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Discord off to Bray.

Meanwhile, Daniel and Franklin were causing havoc. Most ponies just quickly galloped into their homes and shut their doors as they all approached, but a few choice ponies simply fell over, unconscious. However, there was not too much of an uproar, since most of the ponies simply feinted without a sound. A few choice ponies, though, approached the group.

"Apple Bloom," exclaimed Applejack in indignation when she spotted her sister, "What in tarnation are y'all doin' up there?!"

Apple Bloom smiled innocently down at her sister and waved a hoof. "We're just fine sis! Daniel here is giving us a ride!"

"A ride?! He's a dragon!" exclaimed Applejack back.

Daniel snorted some flames in frustration as Franklin said, "He is. But don't worry, he's a harmless dragon. I don't even think he knows how to fly. Hey Daniel, do you think you could breath fire?"

"Not that you would want to try to right now," interrupted Night Shade.

Applejack looked at Franklin in suspicion. "What are you?"

Franklin rolled his eyes, "I'm a human, and a dimensional traveler. I refuse to look like a pony, so can everyone get over it? Look, Apple Bloom's sister, we are not here to barbeque your sibling, we're here to see Joseph Torrus."

Applejack blinked. "Who what now?"

"He means Sunset Shadow," said Night Shade.

Applejack nodded slowly, "Okay… but I'm coming with you!"

Daniel looked at the other pony, Ditzy Doo, who was looking at him too in surprise. "I don't suppose you want a ride too? Sorry, we're all out of room. Call back tomorrow."

With that, the group went off. As they approached Twilight's library, Night Shade knocked on the door. Sunset opened the door. He blinked, "Applejack," he said, "Why the hell is there a dragon in outside Twilight's house?"

Applejack shrugged. "I dunno. This here is Night Shade, he knows."

Sunset facehoofed. "Night Shade…"

He then looked at Franklin. "Great… Franklin… And is that… Daniel?"

He looked at the dragon. Daniel nodded. "Who are you again?"

Sunset grimaced. He then said, "I'm Joseph Torrus."

Daniel immediately glared coldly at him. "Joseph… It's so… nice to see you again."

Sunset stared evenly back. "I agree. Be careful Daniel, you have my friends riding your back."

Franklin broke the tension. "Hey! Joseph! It's so AWESOME to see you again buddy! When did we last meet? It was like when you were blasting that moon to pieces right? Totally rad if you know what I mean… heh…"

Sunset smiled calmly as Fluttershy poked her head around the door.

"Oh my," she said as she spotted Daniel. She immediately hid behind Sunset, who stood squarely in the door to protect his wife.

After a while, Daniel sighed. "I'm sorry," he said, "It's just you tried to kill me last time we met."

Sunset nodded. "I know, I am sorry. I was a different person, but I have changed. If you want confirmation, ask any pony in Equestria."

Franklin tried to break the tension again. "Cool! Nice place right?"

Sunset turned to Franklin and winked. "I know right? So, what are you guys doing here?"

Franklin winked back. "Oh, we died, and fate sent us to the land of Equestria to protect it from a great evil! Just kidding, we came here because the arch-demon Malpas had told us the Legion had destroyed this place."

Sunset nodded, "Night Shade told me a bit about that. Operation Astrol, as we know it, was never completed. It seems that Legion lied to the Grand Demon to achieve some other plan that he deemed of greater importance. So much so that he held his life in lower regard."

Daniel settled down as he let the Cutie Mark Crusaders hop off his back. "We really have no other plan of action now."

Suddenly Flaming Star joined the group. He turned the corner and stopped dead in his tracks. He looked at the group outside Twilight's library.

"Oh… Well… This is new," he said.

He then spotted Franklin. "Oh my god. Franklin Montgomery… you're not dead… I think my heart just skipped a beat."

There was a pause. Then Flaming Star laughed. "Wow! I can't believe it! You're alive! We're not alone!"

He went up and slapped Franklin on the back. Then he noticed Daniel. There was a deathly pause as Flaming Star recognized who he was looking at.

"Daniel." He said tersely.

"Firstborn." Said Daniel back.

Sunset facehoofed. "Wow, Daniel, you really got to work on making friends more often. Did you not get along with the firstborn either?"

"No, no, he's okay," said Flaming Star, not taking his eyes off Daniel, "it's just we don't see eye to eye sometimes… most of the time."

Daniel sighed. "Look," he said, "I'm not here to stir up hostilities, heaven knows we have enough, we have a major issue coming up, and I need to talk about it with you."

Night Shade spoke up, "Um… hasn't Pinkie Pie prepared a party for me in that library?"

Sunset brightened up. "Oh yeah… that. Come in every pony!"

Night Shade eyed Daniel. "Um… how is he going to fit?"

Daniel winked. "I am not changing my form. I'll hang out here."

Flaming Star, who still was looking at Daniel then said, "Oh, I'll stay out here with him. We can discuss these 'major issues.'"

Sunset rolled his eyes. He and Fluttershy threw the door open and the ponies and Franklin moved on into the house. In a few moments, the festivities commenced with the Pinkie party.

While this was going on, Daniel and Flaming Star sat outside.

"Well, what is it that you need to talk to me about?" said Flaming Star.

Daniel took a deep breath. "Remember the battle of the white planes in the Warriors dimension?"

Flaming Star's eyes darkened. "The creatures from that other multiverse. Why do you speak of them out in the open?"

"They're back," replied Daniel, "my team and I encountered one a week or so back."

"This is grievous news," said Flaming Star, "are you positive?"

"Positive."

Flaming Star was about to say something else when he was joined by Twilight and Spike.

"Hello every pony!" said Twilight brightly, "Why aren't you two inside?"

"I can't fit," said Daniel as he began to shift uncomfortably away from Spike.

"I was here talking to him," added Flaming Star, "Are you going to join the rest?"

Twilight smiled and sat down next to him. "No, I will be fine out here with you two. How about you Spike?"

Spike waved his claws in a general direction. "Yeah, yeah… I'll be fine. Daniel, can you breath fire?"

Daniel grinned awkwardly. "I have no idea. I don't think I should try though."

Flaming Star sat, staring blankly off into the distance as he contemplated the information he had just received. He turned to Twilight, "Are you ready for our journey to the Frozen north?"

Twilight smiled and hugged him. "I'm ready whenever you are."

Abruptly a scream erupted from the house, "DEMONS! THEY'RE EVERYWHERE!"

Immediately Daniel's eyes lit up with deadly fire. His ears pricked up and he scanned the area. "Where?" he snarled.

Flaming Star frowned. "That's Miranda. The other dimensional traveler."

Daniel narrowed his eyes. "She doesn't sound very well…"

Flaming Star bit his lip. "She isn't right in her mind right now. Nightmares and the like, you understand."

Daniel's eyes softened. "Could I… could I see her?"

Flaming Star nodded. "Come around the back. You can look through the window."

With that, Daniel went around the library to look on through the window as Twilight and Flaming Star went to comfort Miranda from the inside. The pony was tossing and turning in a feverish frenzy as she muttered about torture and demons.

"Is there anything we can do for her?" said Night Shade, his eyes full of pain for Miranda.

"Nothing that I can think of yet," said Flaming Star, "she's been teetering between sanity for a bit now."

"No... no… no," muttered Miranda, "you will never get anything from me… You will only get my personal information, you hear?! Miranda Arkine. Dimensional Orientation: PD-7. Power tier: 7. 79th generation."

Franklin's face turned deathly white. "What did she just say?"

"Her personal info," said Night Shade, "Miranda Arkine."

Franklin began to tremble. "That's my sister."

* * *

**Note: Franklin has a sister?! I am apparently really good at cliffhangers. Oh, by the way, don't forget about reading the "The Ultimatum" chapter, it appears some people have skipped over it, thanks! And thanks for all the feedback! You guys are awesome!**


	32. Chapter 32 - Memories (Part 1)

**Note: I originally thought I was going to have to wait a couple of days so I could restock my doc manager, but then one of my classes was cancelled and I had three hours with nothing to do. Thus, I spent that time writing! Now everything is back on track! Oh by the way, you know why good 'ol Frank has a sister? BECAUSE I CAN HAZ PLOT DEVICES. Thanks for all the feedback guys! Keep them coming! Your are all awesome!**

**Additional note: Just in case anyone was wondering, these are memories explaining a little bit of the past of the Brothers in Arms corps, and the immediate aftermath of Regal Crescent's death.**

* * *

_Dimension: The Neverending Story_

_Planet: Fantastica_

_Specific Location: The ruins of Spook City_

_Time: A millennium after the defeat of the Nothing_

"Hang in there Bastian Junior," muttered Daniel Dragoon as he gripped the mortally wounded man's hand tightly, "I've almost got the dagger out of you."

Bastian Junior Bux gave a gasping grunt of pain as Daniel dragged the dagger out of him. He gave a breathless chuckle as he said, between gasps, "Eh, it's too late for anything, Daniel. I'm gone. See to Hillary Rich… Is she okay?"

"Hillary is dead," said Daniel sadly, "All I have is you now. Stay still, you've lost a lot of blood."

Bastian shook his head and gasped out, "They've got the Neverending Story book. They have it. Demon Nicor had it, but he gave it to the demon of Terrible Trivium before I killed him."

Daniel's eyes narrowed. "What is the Terrible Trivium, the faceless demon of worthlessness, doing here?" he said.

Bastian shook his head. "I don't know. But I know where he's taken it." Reaching up shakily, Bastian handed a bloodied note to Daniel. "It was a part of the plan the Nicor had before I stole it off his body. Terrible Trivium is taking to his home: the Mountains of Ignorance… in the Phantom Tollbooth dimension."

Daniel bit his lip until it bled. The Mountains of Ignorance were a place of lore in demonology. The place had been one of the first massive strongholds of the demons until the great dimensional traveler Milo Juster and the firstborn had brought the whole thing to its knees. It was ruined and abandoned, but many of its residence demons escaped. It seemed that those demons were now returning to bring the massive monument of death and hate to its previous hellish glory.

"Not if I can help it," muttered Daniel to himself. After putting the paper into his pocket, he looked at Bastian. "I will find the Neverending Story book, I will kill the Terrible Trivium, and I will grind the Mountains of Ignorance to dust," he said, "I promise this to you."

Bastian smiled weakly. "Good luck best buddy," he gasped as blood began to trickle from the corner of his mouths. He then gagged, gurgled, and died.

Daniel's head drooped low over the dead body. He had promised to Bastian that he would get it back, and he would, but his team was dead, and the whole thing had ended in disaster.

"But I promised," mumbled Daniel as he slowly got to his feet, "I promised, and heaven knows that I will keep that promise. Rest in peace Hillary Rich. Rest in peace Bastian Junior Bux."

He solemnly buried the two side-by-side, he then incinerated the dismembered figure of the demon Nicor. He then slowly sat down next to the graves of his two friends as he slowly sorted through the possible locations of other friendly travelers. There were precious few now. Suddenly, he got an idea: there was one place where he knew someone might help him; he wasn't the best, but he most certainly was able.

Quickly Daniel opened a portal up and stepped through.

* * *

_Dimension: Tangled_

_Planet: Earth_

_Specific Location: The Snuggly Duckling Inn_

_Time: A year after the death of Gothel_

"You know," said Franklin slowly as he quaffed a whole tankard of beer, "I literally have no idea why any of you morons named this place the Snuggly Duckling. I mean, you guys are literally the refuse of society."

A thug immediately tried to punch Franklin, but Montgomery simply grabbed the fist and forced it down with ease as he finished his beer. He looked at the thug and said, "Honestly, don't try to arm wrestle me, it's stupid."

"Who the hell are you anyway?" said the innkeeper as he refilled Franklin's tankard. Franklin waved a hand in a randomly picked direction as said, "My name isn't important. I'm a lowly traveler actually. Just stopped by here to see what this place had going for it. Nothing really, I am actually quite unimpressed. Do this dimension a favor and change the name of this inn though, it makes me feel like I'm in a Disney Princess movie."

The innkeeper glared at him as he pushed the tankard forward. Franklin grabbed it with his free hand and quaffed it in one gulp again. Despite the amount of alcohol he was consuming, Franklin was in complete control of his faculties. So when another thug tried to smash a chair over his head, he got up, sidestepped it, and punched the thug in the face. That thug flew across the room and crashed into a group of mercenaries playing checkers. The entire room stopped to look at Franklin. He just looked at them calmly. "I will make sure I pay attention to where I throw my idiots next time. My apologies friends."

All of a sudden, the door to the inn flew open and another figure stepped in. Momentarily all attention was diverted to this other imposing figure. It was Daniel in a hooded cloak. He quickly strolled up to Franklin and said, "Do you know who I am?"

Franklin looked at Daniel through the hood. "You are Daniel Dragoon. You were the former right hand man of the firstborn when I was on team Abimael. What do you want? Is the firstborn calling me in? If that is the case, tell him to go screw himself over, I'm done with these heroics, the travelers' time is over."

The inn had returned to its usual banter and Daniel pulled Franklin over to some side seats. "I am not here from the firstborn," said Daniel, "I left him as well."

"God," said Franklin, "has anyone chosen to stay with him?"

Daniel nodded. "Daniel Porthus, Martin Calhoun, and Joseph Torrus."

Franklin choked on his beer. "Torrus? The hotshot? I thought he was running his own team!"

Daniel rolled his eyes. "He WAS. Apparently the prospect of fighting alongside the firstborn appeared too tantalizing for him though."

Franklin snorted as he threw his tankard over his shoulder. "We ALL thought it was too tantalizing once. The firstborn is an egotistic, win-rate-loving, moron. Well, I suppose there is nothing we can do about it now. So, why do you want to talk to me?"

Daniel looked around before whispering, "The multidimensional relic, the Neverending Story book, was stolen from Fantastica a day ago. Me and my team tracked down the mercenary-thief Nicor, but it turned out to be a trap planned by the demon Xaphan. The book was passed onto him and the Terrible Trivium, and my team was killed."

Franklin's eyes narrowed. "The Terrible Trivium? Does this means the Mountain fortress of Ignorance is up again?"

Daniel shook his head. "We have no way of knowing," he replied, "But I promised my team I would get the relic back, and that is what I intend to do. However, I need a team to help me do it."

Franklin drew a hand across his mouth as he sat back. "Nope," he said, "nopenopenopenopenope."

Daniel looked at him with irritation. "Do you want pay? I can pay you in gold-plated Latnium, or magically-enhanced Middle-Earth gems."

Franklin shook his head. "I don't want any form of pay either. It's suicide. Hell, it took Milo AND the firstborn to take down the fortress, and those two are freaking powerhouses. I'm power tier 3, and you're power tier 1. They both were, like, power tier negative infinity."

Daniel looked quietly at Franklin as he said, "I need help. We are dimensional travelers for a reason."

Franklin chuckled as he said, "Oops, here we go again! Another of Daniel Dragoon's famous 'we are here for a reason' spiels. Yes, we know you're a goody-two-shoes, you don't need to consistently confirm it."

Daniel sighed. "Is there any way I can convince you to join me on this?"

Franklin shook his head again decisively, "Nope."

There was a pause, and Daniel was about to get up with a sigh when Franklin said, "Unless…"

Daniel quickly sat down and looked at him curiously.

Franklin was staring off into space, as if contemplating something. Slowly he said, "I will help you, no payment required, if you will help my sister escape from captivity in the LEGO Bionicle dimension. She in the custody of some vicious mercenaries called the Dark Hunters. I'll help you get the relic back, you help me rescue my sister. Deal?"

Daniel thought over the details for a bit. Then he nodded. "Deal."

The two shook hand firmly, stood up, and strolled out of the inn.

"So, what's our next step?" said Franklin as they walked away.

"Well, we need one more for a team. We will need at least one more for our team to be completed," replied Daniel.

Franklin rolled his eyes. "Yeah, cause we all know how numerous good, worth dimensional travelers pop out of nowhere like daisies. Seriously now, how are we going to find a traveler who won't just backstab us in the end?"

Daniel frowned. "I have no idea."

"Well, since you have no idea, might I suggest a certain person?" said Franklin.

Daniel looked at Franklin curiously. "Okkaayyyy… Who?"

"Jonathan Mirus, he's a good fighter."

Daniel put his head to one side as he brought up his personal memories of Jonathan Mirus, and cross-referenced it with the traveler database. He then nodded, "Very well. Do you know where he is?"

Franklin nodded. "I have a notion," he said, "I have a notion."

With that, the two quickly walked out of the inn. Franklin opened a portal, and the two stepped through into the Star Wars dimension.

"Mos Eisley spaceport? How quaint," said Daniel, "What year is this? Before or after the battle of Yavin?"

"Before from the amount of Imperial Stormtroops around here," replied Franklin airily, "Do you think we would get in trouble if we blew up the Death Star prematurely?"

Daniel rolled his eyes, "Let's just keep moving. Where your friend?"

"Right this way," said Franklin as he led Daniel through a doorway into a tavern. He quickly led him to a table and they sat down, heads bowed.

Soon a hooded figure joined them. "Is a paradox the paradox if there is no light?" said the shady character.

"No. The Paradox is all about light," replied Franklin. The shady character threw back his hood to reveal Jonathan Mirus. He was rough cut, thirty years old, with a scar running the length of his jaw and flint-locked eyes.

"Franklin," he said. He then turned to Daniel, "Is this the great Daniel Dragoon?"

Daniel nodded his head, "I am Daniel Dragoon."

Jonathan nodded. He looked at Franklin, "Why are you two here?"

Franklin glanced around and leaned in close to whisper, "We have a job for you."

"A job with payment, I hope?" replied Jonathan.

Franklin glanced at Daniel who said, "Latnium or Middle-Earth gems."

Jonathan eyes lit up, and he leaned back in his seat. "I prefer Harry Potter Galleons myself," he said, "But Latnium will do. Do you have fifty bars?"

Daniel looked like he wanted to negotiate the price, but he then nodded, "I will give you fifty bars, no more."

Jonathan returned the nod. "Excellent," he said, "I want to make sure this is a square-cut deal, however. I never know when someone is trying to double-cross me nowadays. Why, last month, in fact-"

"I understand," interrupted Daniel, "We've all fallen on hard times during this era of anarchy. Name the location, I will bring half the pay up front, and you will receive the other half later."

Jonathan grinned voraciously, "But of course. The location will be the Hovito Temple in the Indiana Jones dimension. Let's make it year 2000 A.D. to ensure there are no issues with tribes."

Daniel blinked. "Understood. I will see you in twenty-four local hours."

Jonathan grinned. Then he cloaked himself from their view and left. Daniel gave Franklin a side-long glance. "He seems… untrustworthy."

Franklin snorted. "We are all untrustworthy. Let's get out of this place. Anyplace that doesn't serve Earth Beer or Romulan Ale is not even worth it."

Daniel rolled his eyes. "I'm going to grab my Latnium deposit. You go off back to someplace that has Earth Beer or Romulan Ale and knock yourself out… Literally. I will see you in twenty-four local hours."

Franklin winked, "You do realize one of my talents is my incredibly high metabolism… In other words… I can't get drunk. EVER."

Daniel simply got up and left. Franklin sighed and pulled out his sniper rifle which he began to clean.

Twenty-four hours later, Daniel met up with Franklin at the same tavern.

"You have the gold-pressed Latnium?" asked Franklin as the two walked up and shook hands.

Daniel indicated the hovering crate next to him. "I do. Twenty-five bars. Let's get over to the Indiana Jones dimension and make the transaction."

With that, the Franklin opened a portal to that dimension, and he hopped through. Daniel motioned the crate through and then stepped in himself. He looked around the dense jungle as he jogged up to Franklin.

"This was a clever place to meet, I really hope Jonathan isn't trying to double cross us," muttered Daniel.

"Oh, I doubt he will," replied Franklin, "He's too much of a goody-two-shoes himself to pull anything as astronomically stupid and dishonorable as that."

Daniel nodded and walked ahead, keeping the hovering crate by his side. As they approached the temple, Daniel spotted Jonathan, sitting on the top of the steps of the structure.

"You have the first installment of the payment?" Jonathan called down to them.

"I do!" yelled Daniel back up.

"Let's see it then!"

With that, Daniel threw off the cover of the crate to reveal twenty-five thin gold bars, with the precious liquid Latnium preserved within their gold skin. Daniel demonstrated that the gold bars possessed Latnium within them by picking one up and hurling it up to Jonathan. Jonathan caught it and shook it. He then pulled out a Star Trek tricorder and ran diagnostics on the bar. He then nodded at them, "It's Latnium alright. Thanks. We'll take the rest."

Suddenly, Franklin and Daniel were surrounded by armed mercenaries, with snipers in strategic positions on the top of the temple.

"Cool," said Franklin, "I suppose being a goody-two-shoes is tiring. Does this mean you've turned, Jonathan?"

"Oh, I don't know about that," replied Jonathan, "but I prefer to take as much as I can with as little work as possible."

"You haven't even heard the complete job description!" yelled Daniel.

"Okay, let's hear it then! I am sure we are all dying to hear what you have to say," called Jonathan.

"The demon of Terrible Trivium has taken the relic the Neverending Story book to the Mountain fortress of Ignorance. I need to get it back," said Daniel.

Jonathan laughed out loud. "Well," he yelled back, "this, in fact, makes stealing from you easier on my conscience. I would have never agreed to such a suicide run!"

Daniel blinked. "Soooo… does this mean you will just let me walk away?"

Jonathan shook his head. "Nope. Snipers… kill them!"

Nothing happened. "What the hell is going on?! I said kill them!" Roared Jonathan. He then looked to the top of the temple. The snipers were all unconscious. "What the…"

Daniel made his move. Quickly he whirled and unleashed a massive blast of fire. It was so focused that it melted the weapons of the mercenaries. The molten metal bubbled and flowed over their hands, burning and fusing their flesh. The mercenaries screamed and thrashed in pain. Franklin, at the same time, whirled and pulled out his sniper rifle. He quickly disabled the rest of the mercenaries with shots the knees, shoulders, arms, and legs.

Daniel then looked around quickly. "Where is Jonathan? Did he get away?"

"Are you looking for him?" A voice rang out. Suddenly the unconscious form of Jonathan crashed down in front of him. "I took him out, along with the snipers."

"Who are you?" said Daniel.

"Oh, forgive me, I am being rude."

With that, a figure leapt down from a tree and landed at their feet. It was a boy, who looked to be about six years old.

Franklin began to laugh hysterically. "Oh my god, I was saved by a little kid. I hope to high heaven that this wasn't on video tape or anything; I wouldn't be able to live with myself. Oh this is hilarious!"

Daniel looked at the boy and said, "You're Night Shade. The Paradox prodigy."

The boy looked surprised. "Well… Yeah. I know who you are, you're Daniel Dragoon."

Franklin stopped laughing. "Wait… You are the Paradox prodigy? I thought you were running with Torrus! Oh… that's right, team Torrus was disbanded…"

Night Shade nodded. "Yeah. After it was disbanded, I took it upon myself to track down and apprehend as many dimensional traveler traitors as I could. Jonathan has been my target for a while now. I appreciate your support as a distraction."

Franklin crossed his arms indignantly. "Distraction? Are you kidding me? I was the announcer, producer, and star of this whole shenanigan!"

Daniel ignored Franklin. He felt really guilty about asking, but he couldn't help but say, "Did you hear about my job…?"

Night Shade nodded. "A dangerous endeavor," he said, "but I will do it with you two, free of pay."

Franklin snorted. "Oh, real honorable of you, Daniel. You pretty much coerced a six year old boy into committing suicide with the rest of us. Haven't you only been a traveler for what, three years?"

Night Shade blinked. "Yeah? But I was raised by the Paradox, I would say my skills are considerably more polished then yours, Franklin Montgomery."

Franklin raised his hands in mock surprise, "I would also say your English skills are considerably more polished as well."

Daniel then said, "Stop it, Franklin. Night Shade, do you want to do this? I am not forcing you."

Night Shade nodded. "I could use something a little more difficult than hunting down incompetent traitors. When do we go?"

Daniel looked at Night Shade, then at Franklin, then back at Night Shade. "Let's leave the Latnium here for now, we move at once."

Night Shade nodded, "Then let's go. Don't worry guys, you're on my team now, I've got your backs."

* * *

_Dimension: My Little Pony_

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Canterlot Castle_

_Time: Six days after the death of Regal Crecent._

"It's been several days now," whispered Flaming Star to Princess Celestia as they stood outside Luna's bedroom door, "has she not yet come out?"

Celestia's eyes were full of sadness as she replied, "She has not come out once. She refuses to."

Flaming Star sighed, "She cannot keep this up for long. She needs her strength if she is to raise the moon each night. I certainly don't want to do it."

Celestia sighed, and a single tear fell from her eyes. "You may have to, Flaming Star," she said, "I don't know if my sister will ever recover from what has happened."

Flaming Star bit his lip. "There has to be something we can do. Is there any way we can reach her?"

Celestia sat down on the doorstep of the room as she said, "I do not know. I simply do not know."

Flaming Star sat down next to her, and the two sat in front of the door for quite some time. After a bit, they were joined by Twilight. Her eyes filled with sadness when she saw the faces of her two friends.

"No luck?" she asked as she sat down next to Flaming Star.

Celestia shook her head, "There has been no luck. Luna refuses to even see me."

"It must have been terrible for her to lose her loved one like that," murmered Twilight. Almost automatically Twilight leaned her head against Flaming Star's shoulder as she said that.

Flaming Star looked down at his hoofs. "I should have been ready for Legion. It was my fault. I should have I should have I should have I should have I should have…."

Celestia sighed. "We couldn't know. From what I understand, Legion was a commander-in-chief. They are not supposed to be the ones on the front line without support."

"That's another thing," muttered Flaming Star, "what purpose was he trying to achieve doing that? And now Regal Crescent is dead and Luna is reduced to this…"

He suddenly stood up. "No," he said, "I am not letting some demon get the better of us this way even after death. I will not."

With that, he turned around and trotted through Luna's door, using his powers to disable her magically-enhanced lock. He trotted through the doorway, gave them one quick glance, and then closed the door.

The first thing he heard was sobbing.

"Luna," he said, "Luna are you-"

"Go away!" sobbed Luna, "I did not call for you, nor do I wish to see you, or any other pony!"

Luna broke down into ragged sobs again, but Flaming Star didn't go away. He simply cantered up to her bed and sat down next to Luna.

"I understand how you are feeling… But you cannot let your grief get the better of you."

"You do not understand, do you, Flaming Star? He LOVED me. And I loved him! We should never have been parted in such a way!"

"I know it was terrible, but you cannot let grief consume you like this. You have loved ones outside as well! You've shut them off, and alienated them as well. If one loved one dies, it is the duty of your other loved ones to comfort you and help you through that situation. Think of Celestia…"

"It doesn't matter. Regal Crescent was the one who truly understood me. My sister maybe understood what in meant to be good, and what it meant to forgive, but she will never know what it's like to do evil and then be forgiven. Regal Crescent understood that, he knew what I went through."

"But your sister loves you just as much as he loved you…"

"NO! He understood me in a way no other pony could, therefore he loved my in a way no other pony could!"

There was a pause, and Flaming Star stared off into the distance as he thought about the deaths of his own friends. He recalled the death of his very first friend: Anna Coronado, another human from Earth Prime. She was the first person he had ever gotten along with. They started performing missions together, and Flaming Star could not remember any other time where he had had so much fun and done so much without ever feeling emptiness. Sadly, the friendship was no to last. A hundred years into their time as teammates, a disastrous event took place. They were trapped by demons in a large valley. Flaming Star knew they could retreat, but he couldn't stand the thought of losing to those monstrosities. However, he couldn't perform a nova blast because that would hurt Anna. He was torn between decisions a second too long: a well timed bolt of demonic energy decapitated his friend. Then he went nova, so much so that the entire solar system disintegrated with the blast. He had won, but he simply sat in a cave somewhere in some dimension for the next three years after the event, doing absolutely nothing. He couldn't understand what was had gone over him… He felt like she had been the only one who had understood him, who had tolerated him. Maybe he had lost someone more that a friend…

Flaming Star looked up at Luna's face, buried in her pillow, crying uncontrollably.

"It happened to me once too, you know," he said. He had said it quietly, just above a whisper, but the words reverberated around the room as if they had been sounded from a trumpet.

For a moment, Luna stopped crying. Flaming Star lifted her chin and looked into her eyes.

"I had a friend too," he said, "she was amazing, and we worked together so well, but when it came down to it… I failed her, and she died. Perhaps it is a little too different though… The deaths surrounding the two are too different…"

"No…" interrupted Luna, "keep going. Tell me about her."

Flaming Star sighed. "She was amazing, thoughtful, kind, and smart. I never truly loved her, as in 'love' love, but we were the best of friends. She understood my inferiority complex, as well as my difficult attitude, and she accepted me for it. She understood me like no one else did, and I felt that it connected us. But when it came down to me overcoming my issues to protect her… I failed. And she lost her head, literally."

Flaming Star looked down at his hoofs, feeling, for the first time in over five thousand years, overcome with emotions.

"What was her name?" asked Luna, her tearstained face full of sadness and interest.

"Her name was Anna."

"What did you do after she died?"

"I sat in a bleak cave for three whole years, doing absolutely nothing. Even after I had pulled myself together, I never felt whole. Until…"

"Until?"

"Until I met Twilight."

Flaming Star then looked at Luna and smiled. "You see? Unlike me, you have others who love you. You don't have to go through what I did. Don't sentence yourself to solitary confinement, let your friends comfort you."

"You were fortunate, meeting a soulmate like Twilight Sparkle, but there will never be another like Regal Crescent. His death is… is…"

"Is a gift of life for every other pony in this dimension, Princess Luna. If he had not stopped Legion, we all would be dead. None of us would have thought of that idea with the portal as fast as he, and he carried it out fearlessly, without any constraint. It was too much for Legion to handle, and he saved us all. Don't you understand? He died so that ever other pony could live. If he was with us today, he would want us celebrating another bright new morn, not ignoring the days he had given his life for. He gave us our future; let us not waste it in overused grief. The time for mourning is past, the time for honoring has begun."

Luna sighed. "You are right, Flaming Star. You are right. I will raise the moon tonight in honor for my beloved."

With that, she got out of her bed and stood next to Flaming Star. The two trotted out side-by-side to meet Celestia and Twilight, who were still waiting outside the door.

As soon as Celestia saw Luna, she wrapped her hoofs around her sister and gave her a hug. Tears began to flow down her cheeks.

While this was going on, Twilight hugged Flaming Star. The group spent the next couple of minutes like this, hugging, as the sun slowly set on Canterlot castle.

* * *

**Note: I had sooooo much fun writing this! Anyways, keep those reviews flowing in!**


	33. Chapter 33 - Memories (Part 2)

**Note: Hey guys? How is it going? Anyways, here is the second and last installment of the "Memories," enjoy! AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW! As I always say, I love reviews!**

* * *

_Dimension: The Phantom Tollbooth_

_Planet: The Expanse of the Mind_

_Specific Location: The Mountains of Ignorance_

_Time: 5300 years after the fall of the fortress of Ignorance_

Just outside the foothills that led to the mountains of Ignorance, a portal opened up and three figures stepped out: Daniel, Franklin, and Night Shade.

"Well, it looks what like I thought it would look like," said Franklin as he looked the massive, black-colored, mountains.

"We need to be quick," said Daniel as he started walking towards the monuments of death, "the fortress of Ignorance was massive, so it is possible that the demons have not yet completed its refortification."

Night Shade looked at the place with a calm eye as he said, "This place looks formidable, but we should be okay. Do you know where the Terrible Trivium could be hiding?"

Daniel grinned. "According to the texts of the great Milo Juster, the demons feel safe here. They will most probably be out in the open, minding their own business. However, if Xaphan is there, he has probably got some form of order in the place."

Franklin nodded. "Yeppers. So, I suppose what we should do is teleport ourselves to the highest vantage point and work our way down.

Daniel blinked in acknowledgment. "The highest vantage point in the land is the Castle in the Air. It is an old prison built just above the highest point in the mountains of Ignorance. It is probably in ruins now, but we could start there. Franklin, when we are up there, you will be in charge of spotting anything unusual. That is where we will start."

Franklin pulled out his sniper rifle. "Gotcha," he said, "teleport us there now."

Quickly Daniel opened a portal and they swiftly walked through it. In a moment, they were in the dilapidated ruins of the Castle in the Air. Franklin ran over to a ruined windowsill and set up his sniper rifle. Quickly he began to scope out the land through it.

"Well, you were right," he said, "most of the demons here are just hanging around, doing nothing. However, I can see the fortress of Ignorance. Goddamnit, it's already almost complete. The place is a freaking powerhouse now. Wait… there is the Terrible Trivium. He has the relic. He is walking side-by-side with the demon Xaphan. They are passing through the gates of the fortress of Ignorance. They're in."

Franklin turned to look at Daniel. "Well, we're in trouble. If you want to pull anything, it might as well be sooner than later. They have the relic, and they are safely within the fortress. Need I remind you that it took Milo Juster AND the firstborn to burn the place to the ground?"

Daniel rolled his eyes. "Yes, I know it took them both to take down the fortress, but I have you and Night Shade, and we have teamwork. Milo and the firstborn were powerful, but they are both loners, and it was their sheer power that took down the fortress. We have power and each other."

"Oh, how sweet," snorted Franklin, "I will make sure to mention to the demons how magical friendship is as they rip our innards out after we fail this whole thing."

"We're not going to fail," said Night Shade, "there is too much at stake."

Franklin was about to say something scathing, but then he remembered his sister. His face hardened. "Right," he said, "We might as well get rolling then. What is the plan?"

"We are going to use our distinctive skills to our advantage," replied Daniel. "I am going to need Night Shade to get me in there with his superspeed. When I'm in, I'll smoke them out into the open. Franklin, that is when I will need your sniping skills. Take them out as they run from the fortress. Kill everyone and everything. I will grab the relic and we will leave. Night Shade, when I am in, I will need you to protect me when I start the fire."

The group nodded at each other for a moment.

"Okay," said Franklin clapping his hands, "Let's go do something equivalent to suicide!"

Night Shade grabbed Daniel's arm as he sped up his molecules. "Okay fearless leader," he said to Daniel, "hold on tight."

With that, they blasted out of the Castle in the Air almost at the speed of light. They sizzled across the decimated valleys, rises, and crags of the mountains of Ignorance straight into the fortress of Ignorance just as the massive double doors closed behind Xaphan and the Terrible Trivium.

Night Shade deposited Daniel in the center of the fortress, and blasted away to a safe distance.

Daniel unleashed a firestorm. The sheer power of the storm began to melt the walls, and scorch the ground. Fire, magma, and smoke filled the fortress as the firestorm began to build in intensity.

As this took place, and smoke began to fill the building, Xaphan and the Terrible Trivium were strolling down the hallways.

"Aren't you worried that some dimensional travelers will follow us?" said Xaphan as they walked.

"I am most certainly not, my dear friend," replied the Terrible Trivium, "despite the fact that our demonic energy defenses are not up yet, the travelers do not have the gall to attack us. After all, they do not know that this place even exists, let alone that it is being rebuilt."

"Still," hissed Xaphan, "we do not know if or when they will attack. Our magic and energy defenses should be our top priority right now."

"Oh, then I will make sure that they are our top priority Xaphan," said the Terrible Trivium, "however, there are so many other wonderful, useless, time-consuming things that we could be doing in its stead. So many holes to dig and fill up, so many blocks to stack and knock down, so many-"

"And there you go!" snarled Xaphan, "that was the reason why I was against the Grand Devil's plan to rebuild this place. The guardian demons of the mountain of Ignorance are complete morons; absolutely powerless against their own depravity. You, sir, are a lazy, useless, worthless…"

Xaphan stopped and smelled the air. "That's smoke."

The Terrible Trivium turned his faceless face to the sky. "It's Daniel Dragoon," he said, "he is in the fortress, and he has set the place afire. Perhaps you were right, we should have set up our magical and our physical energy defenses first. But it is too late. We must simply exit the building."

Xaphan looked at the Terrible Trivium in a rage. "SIMPLY EXIT?! The place is burning down! We cannot let a traveler destroy the fortress like this! It took Milo Juster AND the firstborn to take us down last! BOTH OF THEM!"

The Terrible Trivium checked his neatly manicured fingernails calmly. "Of course it did. However, our fortress had been standing for a millennium last, and everything was in place. We've only been rebuilding for a decade, and that is not enough time for us to bring this place back to its former glory. Oh, and please do me a favor and do not speak of the Milo Juster, he tends to bring back unfortunate memories."

"I'LL SHOW YOU UNFORTUNATE!" screamed Xaphan. He conjured up a demonic blade and swung it at the Terrible Trivium. The Terrible Trivium simply gave a slight gesture, and Xaphan's blade dissolved into nothing and Xaphan fell to his knees.

"Do not try to provoke hostilities from me, Xaphan," said the Terrible Trivium calmly, "We demons of Ignorance are quite powerful. Perhaps we are a bit mired in our own iniquities, but our power is untold. All we can do now is retreat. The fortress is a loss, but this in no way will slow us down from returning to build it once more. I can feel the anarchy of this time increasing; soon Daniel Dragoon and anyone else who dares defy us will be dead by their own hands. All we have to do is wait and twiddle our thumbs. Lovely laziness…"

Xaphan glared at the Terrible Trivium and jumped through a jagged portal back to the infernal realm. The Terrible Trivium waited for the portal to close before taking a close look at the Neverending Story book. He slowly placed a smooth, clean hand over its cover, feeling the texture.

"The hands of the Unknowns have no need for this to be in demon hands at this time," muttered the Terrible Trivium calmly as flames and smoke slowly filled the room, "the Paradox has other things to attend to, and this and a newly built fortress of Ignorance cannot be a factor for the infernal real. Perhaps another time, but all that matters now is the new plan. I do apologize for the inconvenience Daniel, your old teammates were not supposed to die then, but Xaphan was quite insistent. Well, at least everything is back on track now."

With that, the Terrible Trivium set down the book carefully. He then simply dissolved into nothing.

Daniel entered the hallway a moment later, white flames surrounding him in a wreath of light. He saw the book and quickly picked it up, surrounding the relic in a protective energy shield. He then strolled out of the fortress.

As he exited the building, a large group of demons tried to apprehend him. However, a third was taken out immediately by Franklin's sniper rifle. Another third was taken out by Night Shade, and the last third was taken out by Daniel. The other demons fled before the inferno of flames and heat. Daniel then opened up a telepathic intercom with the others.

"I have the book," he said, "it looks like the Terrible Trivium and Xaphan fled when they saw the fortress on fire."

"Cool," said Franklin, "but you have an army of demons bearing down on you. Brace for impact!"

Daniel whirled and saw at least a thousand demons rushing him from the valleys and crags of the mountains of Ignorance. Night Shade appeared next to Daniel, and they nodded to each other. They then rushed upon the sea of demons with a yell. Fire, kinetic energy, and bullets filled the air as the three assaulted the army. The battle was over in less than five minutes, with Daniel and his team clearly the victors.

"We are so totally boss right now," said Franklin over the link.

"That was awesome," added Night Shade breathlessly.

Daniel looked around at the mountains of Ignorance. The fortress of Ignorance was burning to the ground, and all demons in sight were dead.

"Let's go now and rescue your sister," said Daniel. He nodded to Night Shade, who grabbed his arm again, and blasted off to the Castle in the Air. In a moment, the team was together again.

"Do you have any place you want to land specifically?" asked Daniel.

Franklin shrugged, "You can land anywhere you want. For me, I am going to go to the center chamber to free my sister. She is trapped in a stasis tube in a gallery."

"Your sister is what now?" asked Night Shade in surprise.

Franklin sighed, looking serious for the first time in a while. "She was in the form of a Bionicle, hunting down a demon that had infiltrated the dimension; however, she fell in love with one of the residence, and became caught up in side adventures. Eventually one of those side adventures led to her being captured by Bionicle bounty hunters. She wasn't killed, thank God, but she was placed in a stasis tube, where she remains, frozen in time, until somebody can rescue her. The time for that rescue is now, it was part of my deal with Daniel."

Daniel nodded. "And now we are going to rescue her," he said, "and we are going to do it quickly and efficiently. According to the traveler database, Bionicle creatures in general have powers akin to traveler powers, so we will have to be careful. Some of the creatures in this bounty hunter group are extremely powerful, so we need to act fast. You and I show up on the beach and assault the fortress from the front with as much firepower as we can muster. As that goes on, Franklin will go to the center and quickly steal back his sister. Easy come easy go. Good?"

Night Shade nodded, though he looked a little nervous.

"Let's go then!" exclaimed Franklin, and they opened a portal.

* * *

_Dimension: LEGO Bionicle_

_Planet: Mata Nui Robot_

_Specific Location: Coastline of Odina_

_Time: A week after the Toa Mata awoke_

"We are sooooooo screwed," muttered Franklin from his perch on a craggy mountain on the bleak coastline of the island of Odina, homeland of the mercenary group, the Dark Hunters.

"Why are we sooooooo screwed?" whispered Night Shade.

"There are so many guards, so many guns, and so many traps," snarled Franklin as he continued to look at the base from his sniper rifle.

"Why would that be a problem?" asked Daniel.

"Well," said Franklin, "the mountain fortress of Ignorance was easy because we caught them off guard, but this place is totally ready for anything, even if dimensional travelers are strangers to this realm."

"Is there anything we can do?" asked Night Shade.

Franklin sighed. "We could continue on with the plan," said Franklin, "but that would mean putting you two at risk. I am not going to risk that… not my team."

"We need backup," said Night Shade.

"We don't have backup," replied Daniel.

"You totally have backup," came a voice from behind them.

The three whirled, and they saw possibly the most disappointing, yet elating, sight of the day: the firstborn.

"Greetings Daniel, Franklin, Night Shade," said the firstborn.

Night Shade looked like he was in a dream come true. Daniel, however, just glared at the firstborn.

"What do you want James?" he asked.

"Easy now, Dragoon," said James, "I want to help."

"You mean you want to win something, no matter the cost, right?" said Franklin.

James winked, "You betcha! So, what was your plan before I so rudely interrupted?"

Daniel just blinked. "Why are you really here? I mean… really?"

James rolled his eyes. "I am here to help my fellow travelers retrieve a captured comrade for the good of all dimensional traveler-kind. Good enough?"

"Nope," said Franklin, "I could see irony and sarcasm literally leaking out of your ears."

James conjured up a mirror, and checked his hair and face. He then vaporized it and smiled. "Okay, whatever, fine," he said, "I am here because I want Franklin's sister. What was her name?"

"Miranda," snarled Franklin, "her name is Miranda."

"Ah yes, Miranda," said James, "Anyway, I want her to be on my team. Joseph Torrus left, so I need someone to replace him."

Daniel ground his teeth, and looked like he wanted to strangle James, but Franklin quietly pulled him to one side.

"Look, I don't care what happens, but I want my sister safe and sound," he said earnestly, "I don't like the firstborn, but he is powerful, and he will keep her safe."

Daniel sighed and then looked at James, "Okay, we will let you help. Franklin is going to simply teleport in, grab Miranda's stasis tube, and teleport out. No one will be able to catch him. As for us, we need to create a distraction for at least a minute. Unfortunately, with the firepower these bounty hunters have, that will be one long minute, and our lives will be in peril every other millisecond of it."

"Yeah, peril, gotcha, whatever. I'm going to be creating a good, large, distraction in ten seconds," said James, charging up his fists with pure power, "better get ready guys."

Ten seconds later, Daniel, Night Shade, and the firstborn attacked the front gate of the Dark Hunter's fortress. The fortress literally burst into chaos. Immediately bounty hunters off all kinds, armed with all kinds of powers and weapons poured down on James, Daniel, and Night Shade, but no matter their powers, the combined might of the three was too great. The minute of the distraction crawled by, but suddenly James snapped a finger. A massive blast of light and a rippling shockwave of electricity shocked and blinded all oncoming attackers for a moment. He then grabbed Daniel and Night Shade and teleported them out of there. The surroundings melted away as the teleportation took place, and next thing they knew, they were back on the one mountain, with Franklin waiting for them. He was grinning, and there was a large stasis tube with an unconscious Bionicle suspended in time within it.

"I have her," he said, "I have my sister. Let's get the hell out of here."

With that, the firstborn opened a portal to a safe house in the Twokinds dimension. Already, the mountain was under attack by more bounty hunters, but with James holding the high ground, he easily fended off attacks. As soon as Franklin had entered the portal, carrying the stasis tube, James released on massive blast of kinetic energy, bringing down the whole mountain. As the thing began to crumble, James hopped through the portal.

"That… was… awesome," said Night Shade.

Daniel just nodded his head.

Franklin slowly began to unlock the tube as James exited the portal.

"Careful, Franklin," said James, his voice genuinely filled with concern, "Stasis chambers are nasty business. You need to expose her to air slowly, otherwise you risk brain damage."

Franklin eased off the lid of the tube, and, with a hissing noise, air slowly flowed in. At first, the figure within it did not do anything, however, suddenly, it began to shimmer as it formed to take on the shape of a female figure; a human, about eighteen years of age. Slowly still, Franklin took off the lid and pulled the girl out. She sat, blinking in the sun.

"Norik?" she muttered, "Where are you? Where am I?"

Franklin slowly kneeled down and took her face between his hands. "Hey sis," he said, "It's me, Franklin."

"Franklin?" she said, "What… what is going on?"

"You're safe. You were captured by Bionicle bounty hunters, but we rescued you. Do you remember anything?"

Miranda nodded her head slowly. "I was helping Norik… then… then I was captured and brought to a fortress somewhere… I was forced into a stasis tube… and then you pulled me out."

Franklin smiled and gave her a hug, which she tentatively returned. James then strolled over and looked her in the eyes as he helped her up.

"I am Abimael 'James' Sethson, the firstborn," he said, "I have chosen you, due to your merits in battle, to become one of my team members."

Miranda, whose eyes had been clouded with confusion the second she had been pulled from stasis, smiled. "You're Abimael? My, it is a pleasure to meet you. Wait… you want ME to be on your team?"

The firstborn winked. "I sure do."

Miranda looked a little unsure. "What about Norik?"

James cocked his head onto one side. "They one who you loved is long gone, Miranda," he said quietly, "It is time to move onto other things."

He then turned to Daniel. "I'll take that," he said as he took the Neverending Story book from Daniel, "That belongs with Bastian Senior Bux. I assume you haven't told him of the death of his son yet?"

Daniel shook his head, sadness and anger bubbling inside of him. Finally he said, "I haven't. I would appreciate it if you would do that for me. Firstborn… thank you."

James winked at him. He then turned to Miranda, "Well, sweetheart," he said roguishly, "shall we be off?"

With that, he opened a portal and entered it with the Neverending Story book and Miranda. The portal closed and Franklin, Daniel, and Night Shade were all alone in a forest.

"He never asked me if I wanted to be on his team" said Night Shade, a little downcast.

Daniel smiled at him and turned to Franklin. "Well, all is well now. I suppose you are free to go on your way."

Franklin nodded, but he didn't move an inch. After a long pause, he said, "You know… I've been thinking… we could make a great team."

That was just what Daniel had been hoping he would say. He grinned, "I'll say we would."

He then turned to Night Shade. "Would you like to be part of it?"

Night Shade smiled. "You've been my team since the moment I saw you guys," he said.

"Well, it looks like we're brothers in arms then," chuckled Franklin.

Daniel's eyes lit up. "Brothers in Arms… I like that name."

* * *

_Dimension: My Little Pony_

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Ponyville_

_Time: Six days after the death of Regal Crescent_

Sunset trotted around Ponyville worriedly as he glanced at the sky. There were a large amount of clouds in the sky, something Rainbow Dash should have handled hours ago.

Soon he bumped into Rarity. "Oh," he said, "Rarity, it's nice to see you!"

"Same, darling," said Rarity, who most certainly looked flustered, "I really don't know what I am going to do though."

Sunset cocked his head to one side. "Do about what?"

"These clouds! They are blocking out the sunlight and messing up my color scheme setup. I don't understand, where is Rainbow Dash?"

Sunset nodded and said, "I was thinking the same thing. She should have fixed this problem quite a while ago."

Suddenly the two were joined with a very worried looking Applejack. "Hey y'all," she said, her faced furrowed with a frown. "Any of you a seen Rainbow recently?"

"No," said Rarity and Sunset in unison.

"Well that's just dandy. Where in tarnation is she? With these clouds, there ain't no sunlight! Without sunlight, there ain't no apples! Without apples there ain't no Sweet Apple acres!" Exclaimed Applejack.

"No Sweet Apple acres and no illustrious color designs," added Rarity, "this is absolutely catastrophic! Some pony be a dear and get me a feinting couch."

No one moved. Soon they were joined by Pinkie Pie.

"Hey everpony! How are you all doin' on the wooonndderrfulll day?!" She exclaimed with a bounce.

Sunset looked at Pinkie Pie with a forced grin. "Oh, we're just dandy. Thanks Pinkie Pie. I don't suppose you've seen Rainbow Dash anywhere recently?"

"Nope!" said Pinkie Pie, "I haven't seen her since last a few minutes ago! That doesn't count as 'recently' right?"

Sunset rolled his eyes. "Oh… So, humor me here, let's say that the word 'recently' somehow DID encompass a few minutes ago. Let's try this again now. I don't suppose you've seen Rainbow Dash anywhere recently?"

Pinkie Pie gave him a huge wink. "Rrriiiggghhhtttt… I sure have! Recently, as in a few minutes ago, I saw her sitting in that large raincloud over the new town gazebo staring at here hoofs! Nothing out of the ordinary! I've gotta go now! See you all later!"

Humming to herself, Pinkie Pie then bounced away. Sunset turned his head to look at Rarity and Applejack.

"I'm going to talk to Rainbow Dash," he said, "You two might want to carry out the rest of your business. If all goes well, the sky will be clear within the hour."

Rarity gave Sunset a hug. "Oh please be quick, Sunset Shadow," she said dramatically, "I don't know how much longer my color schemes can take this dull light!"

Applejack rolled her eyes at Rarity. "Your color schemes? What about my apples? Last time I did some checkin' it was them apples that were alive, not your color schemes!"

Rarity placed a defensive hoof on her chest. "Are you suggesting that my beautiful color schemes are inanimate? Heavens! They have souls and deserve to be treated with kindness!"

Sunset snorted. "You two can do that too, if you want. Anyway, I am going to see to Rainbow Dash."

With that, he spread his wings and flew off to the large raincloud in the center of Ponyville town square. Rainbow Dash ignored him as he settled down on the cloud next to her.

"Hey Rainbow," said Sunset calmly, "how are you?"

"Huh? Oh… hi Sunset. Didn't see you there," mumbled Rainbow, still looking at her hoofs.

Sunset threw a hoof around her shoulders. "Hey, what's the matter? I've never seen Rainbow Dash, champion of the skies, so down like this before!"

Rainbow Dash sighed. "Legion… Regal Crescent."

Immediately Sunset realized what she meant. "You mean their deaths."

Rainbow looked up at Sunset, and he could see her tears brimming in her eyes. "It was terrible… Blood everywhere. Regal Crescent gasping for air."

Suddenly Rainbow broke down crying like a foal. She buried her face in Sunset as she continued to sob.

"Blood… everywhere. So much. Legion cut in half, his organs spread across the ground. Regal Crescent spitting up blood as he struggled to stay alive. I… I can't take it…"

Her body began to shake even more as her sobs increased in intensity.

Sunset simply hugged her tightly as if she was a little foal who had twisted a hoof.

"I understand. Here in Equestria, I am sure there is never much seen violence. Sure, there have been a few broken bones and twisted hoofs here and there, but never something like a creature getting its body cut in half, or a pony getting impaled on a sword. It's all terrible."

Rainbow, who still had her muzzle pressed into Sunset shook her head. "Why? Why did things have to be this way?" she mumbled.

Sunset sighed as he stared off into space. He too began to think of all the whys and whats and how-comes that had plagued him since the first betrayal many years ago.

"Where there is evil," he said slowly, "there is violence. But that isn't it. Where there is evil, there is also good. We are that good. Sadly, being good is not as awesome as many make it to seem, like your Daring-Do books. Being a hero isn't glorious, or awesome, or even the tiniest bit heroic, it is simply standing up to the evil, no matter the cost, and doing it again and again and again and again. That is the cost for being a 'good guy.' However, as dark as it may seem, we must find strength within ourselves and our friends to keep us going. We cannot, I mean we CANNOT let evil become stronger than us no matter the situation. But that is what friends are for, to help us carry on when we ourselves cannot."

He held Rainbow Dash at limb's length and looked her in her tear-stained face. "We are that good," he said, "we are those heroes, and we will continue to shine a light to those weaker than us, no matter the cost. Evil will never triumph as long as we have ponies like you, Rainbow Dash."

Rainbow Dash took in a shaking breath and Sunset wiped the tears off her face. She gave him a little smile. Sunset nodded his head gravely. "You are a hero," he said to her solemnly, "perhaps greater than even Flaming Star or me. You truly understand the cost of lives, which will make you the most merciful, and thus the best, of us all."

* * *

**Note: I had quite a bit of fun writing these last two chapters, I should do it more often! Keep that feedback rolling in! By the way, is it just me, or are the Brothers in Arms corps the coolest team EVER?!**


	34. Chapter 34 - Rarity Takes Bray

**Note: Okay, so I've spent quite a bit of time on the OC guys, so now it's time for the spotlight to fall on some other ponies: Rarity, Discord, and Pinkie Pie! I can feel the excitement radiating off you guys! Am I right? Eh, anyways, I had a question: do I really spell that bad? Last time I checked, things seemed fairly okay... Well, I suppose I will have to keep double-checking stuff!**

* * *

_Dimension: My Little Pony_

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Don Keyxote, the capitol of Bray_

_Time: A couple of days after the Summit meeting, 11 hours before after the arrival of the Brothers in Arms corps_

Rarity was practically drooling as she stared out the window as the Ponyville train passed through the "historical" area of Bray's Capitol: Don Keyxote.

"Oh my, come and look at this, Discord! Isn't that classical era archway just DIVINE?" exclaimed Rarity as she continued to stare out the window.

Discord, who was filing his nails with Pinikie Pie's pet, Gummy, glanced up. "Oh, I'm sure it is simply amazing Rarity," he said sarcastically, "However, I am content where I am at the moment."

Pinkie Pie too looked out the window. "Wow!" she exclaimed, "Look at all those colors! Are they having a party?"

"No, Pinkie Pie," said Rarity, "this is their regular adornment! This place is fabulous!"

Soon, however, the train passed through the area and continued onto the center of the capitol, where it pulled up at a large, grand train station. Rarity, adorned in an elegant, large, flowing dress and stylish sunglasses (despite the fact that the day was rather overcast), stepped out of the passenger car and looked around with a wondering eye. "Look out, Bray, here comes Rarity," she exclaimed dramatically.

Discord flashed into existence next to her, dressed in a suit and tie, complete with a spotless bowler hat. "Oh yes, I am sure it will have all eyes on you, my dear," he said with a crooked smile.

Pinkie simply hopped out of the train and looked around, "Ooooohh… Big. Heya Rarity! Where's our rooms?"

Rarity waved a hoof in a randomly picked direction, "Oh, they're at the Grand Hotel de la Mule over there, adjacent to the station. Come dears! Let us go sightseeing."

For once, Discord spoke a little reason, "Should we not get settled in first, hmmm, Rarity? You will need to be properly dressed, and excellently manicured if you want to be, er, 'presentable' to the Bray capitol senate."

Rarity looked a little flustered as her thoughts were torn between sightseeing and getting ready. Finally she sighed, "You are right, Discord. Let us go to our rooms."

She called over a hotel attendant, and they loaded the luggage onto the trolley. They went over to the hotel as a group, where Rarity checked them in at the front desk.

"Here for a senate speaking, eh, young lady?" said the donkey at the front counter, looking over her monocle.

Rarity gave her a winning smile. "Oh, I most certainly am, thank you."

Rarity, Discord, Pinkie Pie, and the hotel attendant then went to the elevator, and rose to the top floor, where they quickly moved into their two rooms at the end of one of the halls. Rarity tipped the attendant generously, and they all settled in. Discord in one room, and Pinkie Pie and Rarity in the other.

Discord was quite pleased with the arrangements. "Oh my, Rarity," he said with a mischevious smile, "you have Pinkie Pie all to yourself. Won't that be fun?"

Rarity rolled her eyes. "I came prepared Discord. Ear mufflers and the like."

Discord continued to grin. "Since when did earplugs stop the Pinkie?"

Rarity turned around elegantly. "I have no idea what you are talking about, Discord. I am off to get ready. My first senate hearing is tomorrow! Ta-ta!

Discord conjured up a clock and checked it. "You need a whole twenty-four hours to get make-up on?" he said as he looked closely at the clock, despite the fact that all the numbers on its face had been replaced with letters, and the hands were running backwards.

"No, I am talking about getting ready for my beauty sleep! All illustrious mares need them!"

It was Discord's turn to roll his eyes. "Well, I must say you take excellent care of yourself, Rarity. Make sure you don't give yourself too much of a thorough scrubbing though, I hear overuse of soap cases organic molecules to drift apart. You would dissolve into nothing."

Rarity ignored the jab and went into her room and slammed it shut and locked it. Then Discord noticed that Pinkie Pie was standing next to him. "Woopsie-daisy!" said Pinkie, "I forgot to ask Rarity for a room key! This means I can't get in, aw, too bad. Hey Discordy! Could I borrow YOUR room to set up my welcome-to-Bray party for us?"

Discord's mouth dropped open. For the first time in a while, he was speechless.

The very next day, Rarity stepped out of her room to order breakfast. She took a deep breath of the air and sighed, feeling quite refreshed. She took a step forward and almost tripped over Discord. He was in a small tent set up outside of their adjacent hotel rooms.

"Discord!" she said indignantly, "Whatever are you doing here?"

Discord yawned, stretched, and snapped his fingers. The tent and sleeping bag he had flashed out of existence. He looked at Rarity as he said, "Well, after you so rudely closed the door in my face, I found Pinkie Pie had been locked out. She was quite insistent on having a room for a party, so I let her… um… borrow mine. Unfortunately, her party was a little too feministic for my taste, so I opted to sleep out here."

Rairty blushed. "Ooooh, sorry about that, I forgot about her key. Is she in there now?"

Discord nodded. "I do believe so. However, I would appreciate it if you would take your apology a step further by ordering us all breakfast… hmmmm?"

Rarity sighed. "Very well. I will be back in just a moment. Ta-ta!"

Discord had a fixed grin on his face as he waved to her. However, the moment she entered the elevator, he dropped the paw and really grinned.

"I wonder if there is any good shampoo in here," he muttered as he sidled into Rarity's room.

Several minutes later, Rarity had returned with the receipt to the order she had made. "They really just need to get direct telephones here," she muttered, "perhaps a little too 'classical era' this time."

She opened the door to her room and stopped in her tracks. Discord was admiring himself in a mirror.

"Discord!" she exclaimed in a high-pitched voice, "what are you doing with my things?"

"Oh, just seeing what all this jabber was about with these cosmetics," said Discord still staring at himself in the looking-glass, "I say, I do look dashing don't I? I wonder if this could woo Rainbow Dash…"

Rarity stomped a hoof. "Out of my room, Discord, NOW."

Discord winked at her. "In a moment. I need to finish my nails! Where is Gummy?"

Rarity trotted over, picked up Gummy where he sat in a corner, and tossed him to Discord.

"You have Gummy, now please vacate the premises! Breakfast is coming and I don't want to look shabby for it!"

"Shabby? Whatever do you mean, dear Rarity? Hotel-room breakfasts are for those who are shabby-looking! For those who don't want to get out of bed!"

"Stop looking for excuses Discord! I need my curling iron, WHICH YOU ARE USING AS A FOOT WARMER."

"Oh, this thing? My, my, I was wondering what it did. Quite cozy if you ask me. Tell you what, I'll leave if you give me the key to your room so that I can give it to Pinkie Pie. Then I can have my own, spacious room again, and you can go back to getting all cozy with that wonderful pink party pony."

Rarity bit her lip as she thought over the decision. As much as she didn't want to admit it, she didn't want Pinkie in her room. Finally she sighed, "Very well, Discord. Here is what I am willing to do: if Pinkie gets your room, I will let you share my room and my cosmetics. But if you break or dishevel anything…"

Discord winked at her. "Perish the very thought my dear! So, when in this breakfast coming? You have a speech for the whole of Equestria coming up in less than five hours!"

The moment the statement left Discord's mouth, a rap sounded at the door, and a breakfast trolley came in.

"Breakfast for three," said the attendant. Once again Rarity tipped the mule generously, and he left them without a word. Discord floated lazily to his former room and rapped on the door.

"Who's there?" said Pinkie Pie.

"It's Discord, our breakfast is here. You might want to halt your momentary attempts to inadvertently burn this place to the ground and join us."

"Okie Dokie Lokie!"

With that, the three gathered together and ate breakfast.

"Well, I have to say, this is excellent food," said Discord as he popped a strawberry tart into his mouth. "Quite exquisite, the taste… is divine."

Rarity nodded. "Oh yes," she said, "they certainly know their culinary arts."

"No cupcakes though," said Pinkie, though she didn't sound bothered in the least as she ate a biscuit.

Pinkie eventually went to get ready in her room, and Discord threw himself upon on of the two beds in Rarity's room. He conjured up a television, and began to watch a show called "The Daily Chaos Watch" as Rarity took to the bathroom to prepare herself. That process took literally three hours… literally.

Pinkie Pie and Discord were sitting together on the bed eating popcorn watching a ponyfied version of "The Emperor's New Groove " when Rarity stepped into the room.

"Gaze upon me!" she said dramatically, "am I not a sight?"

Discord glanced up. "I could have done that in three minutes," he said casually as he went back to watching the movie.

Rarity rolled her eyes. "Well, luckily you're not the target market," she muttered. "I'm am going now to the front hotel room. A convoy should be coming shortly to pick me up to take me to the senate chamber, if my itinerary is not mistaken. Discord, I understand that you are absolutely 'wowed' for some remote reason by this movie, but I would appreciate it if you took a little time out of your day to watch my back. You're here for a reason… REMEMBER?"

Discord, with his eyes glued to the screen nodded his head, "Oh yes, I most certainly remember. Fret not, Rarity."

Rarity sighed and trotted out of the room. As she left, she said, "Oh, and Pinkie Pie? Be a dear and not destroy anything by accident."

With that, she left the room, took to the elevator, and entered the grand front hall of the Grand Hotel de la Mule. She was met by a donkey that was dressed in black, and had sunglasses on.

"ID," he said. Rarity flourished her Sun and Moon Sister approved VIP badge. The mule looked it over and nodded to his companion.

"This is the VIP, take her to the senate."

The two led her to an elegant limousine, and Rarity was off to the grand building of the capitol in no time. The procession was huge, and Rarity stepped out of the vehicle with a flourish. Elegantly she trotted up the steps to meet prime senator Pontius Donkius. She smiled winningly at him, and he bowed. "Miss Rarity," he said, "you grace us with your presence. The senate is waiting for you."

The two then, accompanied by a troop of special security guards, trotted into the grand senate chamber. In a few minutes the discussions of war began.

"I do hope you are all aware of what is going on outside your borders, correct?" started Rarity immediately.

Pontius cocked his head to one side. "What do you mean?"

"I mean our relations with the Equus-Irrum alliance," explained Rarity.

Pontius nodded. "Oh, we are aware of your situation somewhat. News has come in and out of our land."

"Wonderful. I hope I am not too bold in asking what your stance is on this situation?" said Rarity.

Another donkey, the secondary prime senator, Martique Muleen, then said, "We are somewhat objective as a collective as of now, Miss Rarity."

Pontius nodded, "We are somewhat objective about this whole thing."

Rarity nodded. "I understand that. However, what Princess Celestia is most worried about right now is your reaction if the alliance was to ask you to allow them to send military hardware and soldier through your borders to assault Equestria's northern mountains."

Pontius stroked his chin with a hoof. "That is an intriguing question, Miss Rarity," he said calmly, "the alliance has in no way presented hostilities to ourselves directly."

Rarity's mind sped up a couple of revolutions as she realized what they were saying. She sighed and said, "But do you now realize that you would be extremely vulnerable to attack if you let weapons pass through your realm?"

"I agree," said Martique, "we would be open to attack. And they would already have troops well within our borders."

Pontius shook his head. "Nevertheless, the alliance does not seem interested in Bray. Equestria is their prize, and I fear that any creature opposing them will simply be stepped on."

Martique snorted. "Forgive me, prime senator, but you make our illustrious nation sound like it is something to trifle over. That is not the case."

Pontius blinked. "Perhaps not, but what do you suggest we do?"

Martique looked at his front hoofs for a long moment. After a while, he looked up at the quietly awaiting senate. "We will do nothing, as of yet, I suggest. We should simply wait until the alliance themselves confront us with a question."

Pontius rapped his high desk with a hoof. "I agree. Senate dismissed. Martique, I wish to see you in my office now. Miss Rarity, I appreciate your time."

The senate began to file out. Rarity was completely at a loss for words. Had she really failed so miserably to sway the Bray senate? Eyes downcast, she began to slowly leave the room. She then took a quick detour to make a trip to the ladies' lavatory. However, as she was moving down one of the silent, grand hallways, a hoof grabbed her roughly. She tried to scream, but another hoof clamped over her mouth. Her unseen attacker dragged her away to a small room and threw her in. A little dazed, Rarity got up and wobbled. Before her were Pontius and Martique.

"What is the meaning of this?!" she exclaimed.

"I deeply apologize for the way we got you here," said Pontius, "but we needed to discuss something with you in total privacy."

"That is still no excuse for handling a lady like this," retorted Rarity, "I am from Equestria! Why I'll-"

"We want to help you against the alliance," interrupted Martique. Immediately Rarity stopped ranting and looked at him curiously.

"Eh?" she said, a little unlady-like.

"We knew we needed to act fast against the alliance," said Pontius, "but Bray is mired in its own bureaucratic mud. We knew we couldn't get an immediate, and total, government approval for what we were planning, so we decided the operation would be only known by me, Martique, and you."

Rarity blinked, still a little at a loss. "Oh… okay… Well… What now?"

"This is the plan," explained Martique, "we will allow the alliance to send trains of weapons across our border via our train tracks, and make it seem like we are on their side. However, what they don't know is that we will have mined our own tracks with high-yield explosives. When they are well within our territory, we will destroy the tracks and derail their equipment. They will lose billions of bits worth of equipment, and they will be unable to continue across our territory."

Rarity worked to force her excitement down. "That is an excellent plan, senators. A wonderful plan."

Pontius nodded his head. "I thank you, Miss Rarity. However, there is one thing we ask of you."

Rarity cocked her head to one side. "What is it?"

"Well," said Martique, "we will need you to send a pony from Equestria to set off the device. We will get photo evidence of it, to prove that you had sent a strike team into our land without our detection. We will also claim that we were in a non-agression pact with you, and are in no way offended by your attack. This way we will both have stopped any further attacks from the alliance, and Bray will continue to stay neutral."

Rarity gave them a dazzling smile. "It is wonderful. So, when will this take place?"

Martique smiled back. "As soon as we get word military hardware is being sent across our borders via a train."

Rarity nodded. "I will get word to Princess Celestia via a private courier of the plan, it will work flawlessly. We should have the message to Canterlot within the hour."

Pontius returned the nod. "Let us hope so."

* * *

_Dimension: My Little Pony_

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Canterlot Castle_

_Time: Two days after the Summit meeting_

Princess Celestia turned away from watching her personal courier disappear over the horizon. She then looked at her sister Luna. "Our rejection letter has been sent," she said, "we are now at war."

Luna sighed. "This situation is grievous indeed," she replied, "how are our preparations faring?"

Celestia looked off towards the Freezelock pass in the Frozen north as she said, "Flaming Star and Twilight Sparkle are soon to be at the Freezelock pass, setting up tack emplacements. Soon that place will be secure. We've began to also mobilize our foreign-placed troops to congregate on our border of Bray."

Luna nodded. "Very well. When will we hear from Twilight Sparkle's friend, Rarity?"

Celestia turned back to look at her sister as she said, "I do not know. Hopefully soon though, we do not have much time."

* * *

**Note: So, recently an awesome reader of mine hit me with a hailstorm of delightful little things I like to call reviews. His feedback was very thoughtful, and they gave me insight into a couple choice chapters. Thanks to that, I will be rewriting a few of my older chapters so they are more intriguing and better structured. I will give you guys more info as I finish my work on them. Thanks!**


	35. Chapter 35 - Occurrences

**Note: Just a quick warning, this chapter is a bit cluttered. I am using this time to catch you guys on every character. After this chapter is finished, I will begin devoting specific chapters to specific groups characters. For example, one will be about Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Discord; another will be about Rainbow Dash; and another will be about Daniel, Night Shade, and Franklin... and so on and so forth. Have fun! And don't forget that R&R stuff!**

* * *

_Dimension: My Little Pony_

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Twilight's Library_

_Time: 2 hours after the arrival of the Brothers in Arms corps_

Flaming Star looked at Franklin. "She's your sister… I forgot about that…"

Franklin glared at Flaming Star, "Why am I not surprised? I thought she was dead!"

Sunset snorted as he and Fluttershy tried to calm Miranda down. "Oh yeah, I think everyone else thought that everyone else was dead. Now that we got that sorted out, we have a badly hurt pony that we're trying to rehabilitate here, so if you all could shut up and go away, that would be awesome."

Franklin slowly kneeled down by Miranda's bed and grasped one of her flailing hoofs. He then began to whisper something in her ear. Immediately Miranda calmed down and went back to sleeping soundly.

Sunset looked at Franklin. "You know," he said, "for a goofball and a deadshot sniper… that was pretty awesome."

Franklin smiled. "Yeah, I was always good at comforting her. Use to do it all the time during thunderstorms."

Flaming Star's eyes softened. "You two were close, huh?"

Franklin nodded. For the first time in a while, he didn't have a funny comeback, or a flamboyant remarks to make. He clasped his sister's hoof in his human hands. "We were the best of friends. We did everything together. Then the Vietnam War started in my dimension. I was spirited off thanks to the selective service, and I fought for two years until I was wounded and my legs were amputated. Even after I came back, disfigured, Miranda stayed close to me and took care of me. A few months later, the Paradox showed up and took me away. He gave me my legs back, and gave me incredible powers. I served with him for two years, then Miranda joined our ranks… then she sort of drifted away and I lost contact…"

Franklin's eyes were full of sadness as he looked over his sister. During her frenzy, Miranda had rolled onto her back, exposing the scar where the demons had cut her open like an animal for dissection. He sighed. "How is her mind?"

"Not well, I'm afraid," said Twilight sadly, "the torture she has undergone was too great. I'm afraid that…"

Franklin ignored her. He leaned in close and began to whisper things into his sister's ear. From what he could pick up, Flaming Star realized that he was whispering their adventures and shenanigans together from years gone by. Suddenly, Miranda smiled calmly and settled down into a peaceful sleep. Franklin then stood up and looked down at her. "She'll be fine," he said, "she just needs me."

Suddenly Spike, who had convinced Daniel to let him sit on his head as a perch to watch from the window, belched out a blast of green flames, revealing a letter from Princess Celestia addressed to Flaming Star.

Twilight levitated it to him, who opened it up using magic and scanned it quickly. His eyes hardened. "The alliance has formally declared war on us," he said, "Also, our tank carriers have reached the Freezelock, and they need us there immediately."

He turned to Twilight, "are you ready to go?"

Twilight nodded and Spike hopped down from Daniel's head onto Twilight's back. Flaming Star took her hoof in his, and they shimmered away as they teleported to the tank battalions in the north.

Franklin looked at Sunset in confusion. "War? What?"

Sunset sighed, and he sat down next to Miranda's bed. Fluttershy then settled down next to him.

"Well," he said, "there was an assassination attempt on this country's royalty. We caught one of the perpetrators, and he identified two other countries as the ones who had paid them to attack us. Those two nations called themselves the alliance. We tried to talk peace with them, but they simply sent us a ridiculous ultimatum that we could never fufill. Just recently we sent back our refusal to their ultimatum… and now they've declared war."

"Out of the frying pan and into the fire," muttered Franklin.

Daniel's eyes light up with fire the moment the word "war" had dissolved into the air. He looked at Sunset with interest. "Is there anything we could do?" he asked.

Sunset shook his head, "as of yet… no. We should be fine. One of Fluttershy and Twilight's friends, Rarity, is talking to one of our adjacent nations about peace. If all goes well, things should turn out fine, with no need for further bloodshed."

"If all goes well… I hate those 'if' statements," said Franklin.

* * *

_Dimension: My Little Pony_

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: The Freezelock Pass in the Frozen north_

_Time: 5 hours after the arrival of the Brothers in Arms corps_

Deep within the Frozen north, Flaming Star trotted out of his magically-enhanced tent to oversee the scene below: large groups of tanks, akin to M4 Shermans and T54E1s, rolled around to set up at specific positions. He picked up a radio device and spoke into it.

"Group 28," he said, "move half a klik to the west, firing elevation is not nearly sharp enough yet."

Flaming Star was then joined by Twilight Sparkle and Spike. Twilight was levitating a letter in front of her. "The alliance received the refusal," said Twilight sadly, "and they have declared war. Already there are talks going on between Bray and them."

Flaming Star lifted her chin and smiled at her. "We have Rarity there though," he said, "and we got there first. No doubt we are in the favorable position as of yet, and that gives us reason for hope."

Twilight smiled and nodded. Flaming Star turned back to look at the tank positions. As he did this, he said, "The tanks are all almost in formation. When they are, we will be in an excellent position to retaliate against the alliance. The alliance knows that we cannot blow our tracks, for fear of cutting our ally supplies, so they will be sending battle trains and armored vehicles to clear the pass. However, they don't know that the pass has a high elevation grade in the pass in our favor. As they climb it, our tanks and Self-Propelled guns will be able to fire down on them. They will either have to retreat and retaliate, or simply take it and try not to explode."

Twilight smiled. "It sounds complicated."

Flaming Star grinned, "Says the one who reads all the books. Ironically enough, you see group 5? I got their formation from one of your books of ancient warfare."

Twilight gave Flaming Star a wink and looked at the scene unfolding below them. A few minutes later, all motion ceased, and a voice crackled from Flaming Star's radio.

"Commander Flaming Star? We are all in position. Over and out."

Flaming Star nodded quickly as he surveyed the icy blue skies. "Well, we're good, and there has been no notice of the alliances movements. All is good."

Suddenly Spike doubled over, and then belched out a parchment from Princess Celestia in a plume of brilliant green fire.

Twilight levitated it in front of them and opened it up. Flaming Star quickly read it. It contained all the details from the train derailing plan Rarity had discussed with Pontius and Martique.

"Well, this is good news," said Flaming Star, "I suppose these tanks won't even need to see combat, a joyful surprise for most I'm sure."

Twilight read over the letter again. As she did so, she said, "Yes… Princess Celestia wants you to oversee the demolition plan though…"

Flaming Star looked at her. "Is that a problem?" he asked.

Twilight blushed as she said, "Well… I was hoping you would let me oversee that operation."

Flaming Star raised an eyebrow. "Why would you want to do that?"

Twilight's blushing increased as she said, "You've had this operation, so I was hoping that I could do something useful too. I mean, I haven't done a single useful thing since this whole issue started!"

Flaming Star wrapped a hoof over her back and gave her a squeeze. "Sure you've been helpful!" he exclaimed, "You patched me up when I took shrapnel in the side, and you've been helping me plan out all the positions over the last couple of days."

Twilight sighed, "But I haven't done anything really amazing yet! You, Princess Celestia, and Princess Luna have been the ones who have been doing all the important work. I've… I've just been your assistant."

"And what is wrong with being an assistant?!" exclaimed Spike indignantly.

"Nothing," said Flaming Star decisively. He sighed and looked Twilight in the eyes. "Are you sure you want to lead this operation?" he said slowly.

She nodded her head vigorously. "I do," she said, "I most certainly do."

Flaming Star sighed again. "Very well. I will let Princess Celestia know that you were insistent that you lead this operation. You will accompanied, however, by the best guards that Equestria has to offer."

Flaming Star paused as he read the details of the plan again. He looked up and then continued. "This is what is going to happen," he said, "You will meet on top of the Yolk pass, which is in the center of Bray territory. There is a train track that runs through the gorge that you will be overlooking. As the military trains run through, you will set off the explosives as the prime senator Pontius and senator Martique photograph you in the act. You will then return to use posthaste… no stopping, no nothing. You fly straight back here to the Freezelock camp. Spike and I will be awaiting you here."

Twilight, who had been listening with bright eyes nodded. "I got it," she said, "when do I start?"

Flaming Star quickly glanced at the paper once more as he said, "Right now. You will simply camp near the Yolk pass and await further instructions from prime senator Pontius, who will be monitoring the movements of the alliance's supply trains. They are, in fact, awaiting you even as we speak."

Twilight smiled and nodded. She then gave Spike a hug and Flaming Star a kiss. She then spread her wings and flapped off in the direction of Bray. Spike looked up in worry as Twilight became naught but a tiny spot in the horizon. He then said, "I really hope she'll be okay."

Flaming Star nodded to a group of three Pegasus guards clad in golden armor. They then took off after the Princess. "With those guards, she should be fine. If the war trains of the alliance are running according to Pontius's calculations, Twilight will be back in a little less then forty-two hours."

"But that is, like, forrreeevvveerrr," sighed Spike, flopping onto his back. Flaming Star levitated the baby dragon into the air and deposited him onto his back.

"No kiddo," he said, "eight thousand years is forrreeevvveeerrr. This is no time at all… I hope."

* * *

_Dimension: My Little Pony_

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: The Yolk pass in Bray_

_Time: 8 hours after the arrival of the Brothers in Arms corps_

Martique greeted Twilight warmly as she alighted next to him.

"Welcome to Bray, your majesty," he said, "I apologize that there is no procession to greet you, but this plan has been held in the utmost secrecy. In fact, if no information was leaked out, you, the Princesses of Eqeustria, Pontius, Rarity, Flaming Star, and myself should be the only beings in this world to know of this plan. I have two tents set up over there. We will simply camp here until… what is that?!"

Suddenly, Twilight was surrounded by three golden clad Pegasus guards. They looked at Martique suscipiously.

"Don't worry about them," said Twilight, "they are my guards. Flaming Star insisted that they accompany me. Stand down, soldiers."

The Pegasus guards stepped aside. Martique composed himself once more and he nodded curtly. "Well," he said after clearing his throat, "I suppose all we can do now is wait."

And wait they did… for two hours. Twilight was watching the sun slowly set in west when, abruptly, a voice crackled from Martique's radio. "The trains are being sent through," the voice said, "they will be within the Yolk pass in thirty minutes. We will give you a five minute warning, they you're on your own."

Martique leapt up from where he sat, reading a book, and looked at Twilight. "It is almost time," he said.

Twilight blinked in acknowledgment. She was nervous, but a little excited at the same time. It seemed like forever, but the thirty minutes ticked by. Suddenly the radio jumped to life again as the same voice said, "They're entering the pass, five minutes until it passes your location. Good luck."

Twilight looked over the edge of the Yolk pass into the gorge that held the train tracks. She quickly scribbled a note that said "The train about to enter pass. I am going to disable it. All is well." She used magic to teleport it off to Princess Celestia and she resumed her lookout over the gorge. Soon she could see a plume of smoke from a massive armored train in the distance. She turned around to say something to Martique, but stopped when she noticed that he was staring at something. She turned to see what it was, it was Corona Oscura, the leader of Irrum. He grinned at them. "Why, hello there," he said. Immediately the Pegasus guards drew out pistols and swords, but the pony simply waved them down. Gurgling, the guards dropped dead. Corona Oscura winked at Martique and Twilight. "Oh dear, you ponies are rather fragile, aren't you?"

Twilight released a massive bolt of magic at him, but this too he waved down effortlessly. Twilight blinked in surprise. "You're not actually Corona Oscura, are you?"

The pony smiled. "Observant little pony, aren't you? No, I'm not a pony. I am something entirely different. In fact, I'm from another multiverse entirely. But don't try to wrap your little head around it, all you need to understand is that my leader wants to meet you, and you are going to come without resistance."

Twilight released a flash of blinding magic. She then leapt towards the button that triggered the explosives and hit it. Nothing happened.

"You really think we would ever let you risk our plans? The derailment of that supply train is not part of the course we have set out. You can thank your Bray friends for that deception."

Twilight attempted to rush Corona Oscura, but he simply blinked at her. Suddenly she felt very tired. She then teetered over and her mind spiraled into darkness.

* * *

_Dimension: My Little Pony_

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Twilight's Library_

_Time: 8 hours after the arrival of the Brothers in Arms corps_

Rainbow Dash arrived at Twilight's Library, where the Brothers in Arms corps, Sunset, Fluttershy, and CMC were.

"Hey guys!" she said, "where is every pony? Um… what's with the dragon. And what is that?"

Franklin, who Rainbow was pointing to, said, "Oh, I'm a human and a dimensional traveler. I refuse to shape shift into the form of a pony. As for the dragon, he's another dimensional traveler who got it good and was made to look like a dragon. Unfair right?"

Rainbow blinked. "Rrriiiggghhhttt… Anyway, I heard Flaming Star was looking for me, is that true? Where is he?"

"That's right," said Sunset. He pulled out a scroll and levitated it to Rainbow Dash, "he handed this to me earlier today."

Rainbow opened it up and read it. Her eyes widened. "Both he and Princess Celestia agreed that I become commander of the Cloudsdale airforce! I am to report to Canterlot as soon as possible! Wow!"

Sunset smiled. "A dream for you I'm sure. You better go off now, the sun is setting."

Franklin looked at Sunset, "are you sure there isn't anything I can do yet?"

Sunset shook his head. "Not yet," he said, "we have to wait until we hear back from Twilight and Flaming Star about our situation in the north."

Franklin sighed as he sat down to the bed of his sister, still clasping her hoof. "Well," he said, "I suppose we just wait then. You don't mind if I stay here tonight, do you?"

Fluttershy smiled, "I'm sure Twilight wouldn't mind."

Franklin grinned. "Sweet, I will chill out here then. It's almost dark now; I suggest everyone goes home."

Rainbow Dash shook her head. "Not me," she said, "I'm going straight off to the Freezelock pass so I can talk to Flaming Star about this letter. This is so awesome!"

Rainbow spread her wings and took off into the darkness.

With that, the CMC went to their homes, Sunset and Fluttershy went to their home, and Daniel settled down outside. Night Shade then hopped onto Twilight's bed and went to sleep. Franklin, however, just sat next to the bed of his sister, waiting for the sun to rise once more.


	36. Chapter 36 - Disaster

_Dimension: My Little Pony_

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Freezelock pass in the Frozen north_

_Time: 32 hours after the arrival of the Brothers in Arms corps_

Flaming Star with Spike near his tent, overlooking the Freezelock pass. They had been standing there for twenty-four hours. Spike had fallen asleep on Flaming Star's back as they waited for Twilight to return. Flaming Star sighed. He understood that they were working off of the alliance's train schedule, but he really had expected them to be more prompt in sending military hardware against them. He couldn't understand why they were being so slow. But perhaps he was being impatient; in truth, it pained him to be away from Twilight for so long.

Suddenly, Rainbow Dash rocketed out of the sky and landed next to Flaming Star, startling Spike into wakefulness.

"Wha? Who? Where?" he yelled as he woke up, teetered on Flaming Star's back, and fell off.

"Hey Flaming Star!" said Rainbow Dash, "how are you?"

"Not good I'm afraid," sighed Flaming Star as he continued to glance at the sky, "I am worried about Twilight. She insisted that she go off to oversee a very important operation… she has yet to return."

Rainbow winked at him as she patted his shoulder with a hoof. "She'll be fine, you'll see," she said, "I've known Twilight for a good, long time, and she never leaves her pals hangin'."

Flaming Star grimaced, "I certainly hope that is the case. So, what brings you here?"

"Oh yeah," said Rainbow as she pulled out her letter from him, "Do you REALLY think I'm a worthy candidate to be commander of the Cloudsdale army?"

Flaming Star smiled and nodded, "Of course I do! In fact, Sunset was the one who personally recommended you. Why, do you think you're not up to it?"

"Oh, I know I'm up to it, I'm just unsure I SHOULD do it though."

"Why?"

"Well… From what I know now… I don't take losses very well. I know it's embarrassing, but I really can't take the sight of blood."

Flaming Star's eyes gentled. "I understand," he said, "war and violence are not pretty things. This isn't a game. However, Sunset has placed his trust in you, and I think it was well placed. You are really the pony for the job."

"But I don't know anything about commanding!" exclaimed Rainbow.

"Perhaps you do, perhaps you don't, but that doesn't matter. You're not going to do it alone: Commander Hurricane XII, descendant of the Commander Hurricane who helped found Equestria, will be co-commanding with you, and mentoring you every step of the way."

"What? Wow! I get to work with Commander Hurricane?! THE Commander Hurricane?!

"You certainly do. I've struck a deal, and she has agreed to help teach you about what it means to be a leader as you two control the Cloudsdale airforce."

Rainbow Dash smiled, almost dreamily. "This is awesome…"

Flaming Star winked, and was about to reply to that when his eye caught smoke on the horizon. His heart froze. The war train from the alliance was coming… Twilight had failed.

He turned to look at it as it came barreling along the Freezelock pass towards the tank emplacements. It wasn't the sight of the massive armored vehicle streaking across the train tracks that truly worried him, it was the implication that Twilight had somehow failed in her task that the train represented.

"Twilight… failed… How is this possible?" he said, his minding quadrupling in its revolutions as he desperately tried to comprehend a legitimate excuse for why his fillyfriend failed her task.

"Failed? What? Twilight?" said Rainbow, completely at a loss.

Flaming Star pulled himself back into the present. "It doesn't matter now," he said, "we will have to worry about Twilight in a moment. What we need to do at this very moment is prepare to repel this train. It cannot get into Equestria!"

Flaming Star snatched up a radio and spoke into it. "Prepare to repel the train! Fire at will in thirty-four seconds!"

Rainbow spread her wings so that she could fly in closer, but Flaming Star grabbed one of her hoofs. "Stay with me, Rainbow," he said, not taking his eyes off the oncoming train, "this could get ugly."

"Do we have anything to worry about?" asked Rainbow Dash as she landed on the ground again and folded up her wings.

"No… I don't think so…" muttered Flaming Star, almost inaudibly as he squinted at the train.

The train slowed a tad as tanks fired at it. Most of the shots missed or hit the armored sides at an oblique angle, causing a bounce. The train then rotated massive turrets towards the tanks and took aim. At first, Flaming Star wasn't in the bit least worried. The tanks were safe within the nooks and crannies of the pass, keeping them safe from any form or Armor Piercing Composite Rigid shells, or even High Explosive shells. Then he noticed something usual… They weren't regular cannon turrets. They were Heavy Turbo Laser cannons regularly seen on Galactic Empire Star Destroyers in the Star Wars dimension.

"My… God…" whispered Flaming Star, his heart turning to ice. The cannons fired, and all hell broke loose. The alcoves that the tanks had used for cover simply exploded, annihilating the said cover and the tanks using it. In literally seconds, the cannons had decimated one… then two… then three tank emplacements. Hoofs shaking, Flaming Star seized a radio and yelled into it.

"Every tank retreat! I repeat… EVERY TANK RETREAT! GET OUT OF THE PASS!"

"Um… Flaming Star?" said Rainbow Dash, almost in a whimper.

Flaming Star looked at Rainbow, she was pointing at the train. He followed the direction of her pointing hoof and saw that one of the cannons was pointing straight at them.

"Well…" was all he managed to say before the thing shot them and blew up the entire perch.

The ledge crumbled and collapsed, barreling down the side of the hill in a massive landslide of rock and rubble. It crashed to the ground kicking up colossal clouds of smoke. Buried beneath this labyrinthian pile of massive stones were Rainbow Dash, Flaming Star, and Spike. The train rolled away in the wake of the retreating tank emplacements as it carried on towards Ponyville.

The pile of stones from the destroyed ledge suddenly shifted, and Flaming Star crawled out. He was relatively unhurt, thanks to his immense strength. Gritting his teeth, he managed to drag out a bloodied front hoof. He pointed it at the tracks a kilometer ahead of the train.

"I'm sorry Equestria," he whispered, "They will be no supplies coming this way again… but I have no choice."

With that, he unleashed a massive blast of explosive energy. The bolt sizzled through the air and hit the tracks just as the train was passing over it. The explosive blast derailed the train, causing it to tumble over, and the tracks themselves flew high in the air like a ballet of twisted metal and railroad ties. The explosion then caused the Freezelock pass to tremble… then collapse. A massive hail of stones and rocks roared down to block the passageway entirely in an explosion of stones that most certainly triggered tremors throughout the land. The train, that had been derailed, slowly skidded to a stop. Suddenly the doors to several of the train cars opened and alliance troopers and light tank vehicles akin to M2 Bradleys rolled out into the land of Equestria.

Darkness began to slowly eat away at Flaming Star's vision as he began to pass out. Grinding his teeth, he dragged himself from the pile of rubble. He rolled limply down the stack of stones and came to a rest at the bottom.

"Rainbow Dash?" he yelled, gasping for breath in the dust-choked air, "Spike?"

He tried to get up, but simply collapsed to the ground and passed out.

It was the sunlight from a rising sun playing across his face that awoke him. His eyes snapped open and he slowly got to all fours. His body was one throbbing mass of pain, but he quickly collected his faculties as he glanced around. In the distance, the massive armies that had been stored in the war train from the alliance gathered in large groups, all preparing for word from the alliance. Flaming Star swore as he turned to look at the pile. Somewhere underneath that pile was Rainbow Dash and Spike, dead or alive he did not know.

Raising a trembling hoof, Flaming Star called upon his vast reserves of power to reduce the gravity around the stones. Slowly, one-by-one, the slabs of rocks lifted into the air. In a couple of minutes, he had cleared the area to reveal two small, disheveled forms at the bottom of the pile: Rainbow Dash and Spike.

Eyes wide with fear, Flaming Star limped as fast as he could towards the two. Stumbling, he reached them in a cloud of dust. Quickly he kneeled down and rolled first Rainbow Dash and then Spike over. He placed a hoof over Rainbow Dash's neck as he felt for a pulse.

He sighed with relief as he felt it, ever so faintly. He then turned to Spike and searched for a pulse as well. It too was present.

"You two are one of the toughest groups I have even worked with," he muttered to himself. He was personally surprised that any pony had survived that rockslide. With his conscience at rest with respects to the welfare of his two friends, Flaming Star's mind turned to Twilight. What had happened?

He gave a shuddering sigh. There were so many possibilities, so many things that could have gone wrong. Had she been captured? Had she simply not managed to detonate the Yolk pass in time? Had her plan simply been sabotaged? He couldn't comprehend all the ways. However, he was then pulled back into the present as Rainbow Dash groaned and shifted in the dust.

Eyes brightening, Flaming Star quickly limped over.

"Hey, Rainbow, are you okay?" he said into her ear.

"Just five more minutes…" she muttered.

Flaming Star lifted her head with a hoof and said, a little louder, "I need you to wake up."

"Go away…" mumbled Rainbow.

Flaming Star blinked. After a pause, he took a deep breath and shouted, "RAINBOW DASH! THE WONDERBOLTS ARE OUTSIDE YOUR DOOR! THEY WANT TO TALK WITH YOU!"

Rainbow Dash's eyes shot open and she looked around in a frenzy. "Wonderbolts?! Where?!"

Then she saw her surroundings and remember what had happened. She slowly shut her eyes again and forced out a single word. "Ow."

Flaming Star helped her sit up. "Yes, I know. Ow. We need to get Spike up, we can't dawdle here any longer, we need to take action."

Rainbow Dash groaned again. "Action? I feel like I was run over by a stampede."

"Well, you aren't exactly wrong. It really just depends on whether you were thinking about a buffalo stampede, a cow stampede, or a rock stampede."

Rainbow blinked. "This isn't funny, Flaming Star," she said, "What are we going to do?"

Flaming Star's eyes hardened. "We need to fight back. Obviously some creature foreign to this dimension is supplying the alliance with weapons. Knowing Sunset, I don't think he ever gave out plans or innovations pertaining to Heavy Turbo Laser cannons. Someone supplied the alliance, and they did it without anypony ever knowing."

"Demons?" asked Rainbow Dash as she wiped dust off her face.

Flaming Star bit his lip. "I don't know. Maybe."

As Rainbow Dash continued to wipe the dust off her body, Flaming Star went off to Spike and shook him.

"Eh? What?" mumbled Spike as his eyes opened a little, "Twilight?"

"No, sorry, it's Flaming Star," replied Flaming Star as he helped Spike to his feet. Spike shook his head and said, "What's going on?"

"Well, where should I start?" said Flaming Sat with a sigh, "Twilight somehow failed her task in blowing up the Yolk pass in Bray, the train barrled to the Freezelock pass where it met our tanks. Somehow the train was armed with advanced technology from another dimension and blasted our troops into oblivion. It then proceeded to blow our overseeing ledge into dust as well. I managed to destroy the tracks and Freezelock pass then, but they managed to get part way through and successfully unload all their hardware and troops."

Spike rubbed his head. "Wait," he said, "could you go back to the part about you wondering where you should start? I blacked out for a moment."

"Twilight… failed something?" asked Rainbow Dash incredulously. In most situations, she would have thought something like this funny, but not this time.

"She was supposed to stop that war train before it even reached the Freezelock pass," replied Flaming Star, "she didn't do so."

"But that doesn't make any sense!" exclaimed Rainbow, "Twilight never fails anything! What happened to her?"

Flaming Star sighed. "I have no idea."

All of a sudden, Spike, who had been looking at the sky, pointed up and said, "Look!"

Rainbow and Flaming Star looked at where Spike was pointing and saw a hot air balloon slowly descending on their position. The group stepped back as it slowly came to a landing. Charging up his hoofs with lacerating plasma, Flaming Star slowly moved up to it.

"Who is in there?" he said sharply, "get out and show your hoofs!"

A mule climbed out and sat down. He raised his front hoofs high as he said, "Don't fear, I am a friend."

Flaming Star pulled the energy back into his body and said, "Who are you?"

"I am the Bray senator Martique Muleen."

Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes at him. "What do you want?"

"I have precious information pertaining to why Twilight failed to destroy the Yolk pass." He said.

Flaming Star's eyes widened a tad bit, though the rest of his face did not register anything. "Very well," he said coldly, "what is it?"

"We were betrayed!" exclaimed Martique, "Pontius, the prime senator of Bray, double-crossed us! Twilight and I went to destroy the pass, but when the time came down to it, we were apprehended by Irrum soldiers! I managed to escape by stealing a hot air balloon that I had tied down near the pass, but Twilight, who had tried to resist earlier, had been knocked out and carried away. I knew that with Pontius obviously siding with the alliance, I could not return home, so I came here to carry the news to you in Equestria! Did you manage to stop the alliance war train?"

"Does it look like we did?" said Rainbow Dash harshly.

Martique looked around at the decimated Freezelock. "Um… yes?"

Flaming Star nodded to the armies of the alliance in the distance. "You mean no."

Martique looked where Flaming Star was looking and saw the enemies. He sighed, "There is nothing we can do now. Bray has sided with the alliance."

"Pontius, the prime senator betrayed Twilight?" said Flaming Star, "In that case, I think it is time for me to pull a trick of my own."

"Like what?" asked Spike.

Flaming Star grinned, "I can use my powers to teleport into Bray. I will apprehend Pontius with ease, and then force out of him the location of where Twilight is being held. I will then rescue her. A piece of cake really, I don't know why I didn't think of it sooner."

He then turned his back on them and opened a portal. What he saw cause his stomach to turn to ice. Usually a portal was a thin ring of rippling energy, with a clear view of the other end of the portal. What he saw when he opened a portal was a solid oval of energy. He closed it and then tried to teleport there. He shimmered, and then simply rematerialized again. He tried again. And again. And again. He then tried to teleport to Canterlot, that failed as well.

"Um… what happened?" asked Rainbow after a pause.

Flaming Star blinked, almost convinced he was just having a really bad dream.

"They've… they've blocked Bray off…" he said breathlessly, "I cannot enter any place in that land, or Irrum, or Equus, or anyplace."

"How is that possible?" said Rainbow, who began to feel very anxious.

"It's not really," said Flaming Star, "that technology was only in its prototype stages during the traveler-demon war, and after the war ended, the technology was abandoned completely. This should NOT be possible!"

"It looks very possible to me," muttered Martique.

Flaming Star sighed and turned to the group.

"We need to get to Canterlot," he said, "and warn the Princesses of what is happening. We need to get ready for what is to come. Something very powerful and evil is helping the alliance, and we have no way as of yet to stop it."

"Then let's go!" said Rainbow Dash, "We Equestria ponies always find a way to overcome evil! That's something Sunset taught me. To the hot air balloon!"

"Let's just hope that Sunset is still right," sighed Flaming Star.


	37. Chapter 37 - Outlaws

**Note: One or two of you asked me about why there were cars and guns in the MLP dimension right now. The reason they exist is because of Sunset Shadow. He introduced quite a few inventions, such as combustion engines (thus most cars), electricity (thus cellphones), and staple guns (everyone loves staple guns). Unfortunately, given the nature of some beings, these technologies were reverse-engineered and built into weapons. Thus, tanks and guns. Anyway, that was just a quick note. On to some awesomeness with Rarity, Discord, and Pinkie Pie! Don't forget to give me reviews! Lot's of them! I LOVE REVIEWS!**

* * *

_Dimension: My Little Pony_

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Hotel de la Mule in Don Keyxote, capitol of Bray_

_Time: Two days after the arrival of the Brothers in Arms corps_

Rarity woke bright and early. Stepping distastefully around Discord, who was snoring loudly on his bed, she trotted to the window and opened the curtains wide to let the lovely sunlight stream in. It was a bright day, and birds were chirping cheerfully in the sky. Rarity breathed deep the crisp, clean air as she surveyed the grand train station below her. Her breath caught in her throat and her pupils shrunk to a tenth of their regular size as she noticed something.

There was a massive convoy of track-riding tank carriers with the Equus-Irrum alliance insignia plastered across their sides. She then noticed that the hotel had been surrounded by the Bray police force and a couple of alliance Humvees with mounted machine guns. Rarity quickly slammed the window shut and closed the curtains. She leaned against the window as if something was trying to push its way in as she teetered between the edge of hyperventilating and feinting. Suddenly Discord snorted, shifted, and opened his eyes a tad bit. His eyes opened a little more when he saw Rarity in her flustered state.

"Had a nightmare, eh Rarity?" he muttered, more to himself than any pony else.

"Discord! Come and look through the window!" whispered Rarity harshly as sweat began to trickle from her forehead.

Discord slowly rolled out of bed and floated to the window. He peeked through. His eyes widened. "I'll say… I will say… This is quite a bit of a pickle. Didn't those two Bray senators say that they were on your side though?"

Rarity nodded vigorously. "They did!" she replied, "We are after the Yolk pass! These things shouldn't be here! Equestria soldiers were supposed to have blown the tracks hours ago!"

Rarity started to hyperventilate, so Discord conjured up a paper bag and handed it to her. She began to breathe in and out with it as she calmed herself down. Discord eyed the scene with a mildly interested air.

"Well," he said, "I suppose those police forces surrounding the building are for us. I don't think they would inadvertently let potential hostages get away so easily. I mean, you are pretty much an ambassador for Equestria and could fetch a hefty price from Equestria."

As this statement floated away into the air, a knock came at the door.

"Room service!" said a voice. Discord winked, "That'll be the police here to apprehend us. They really have to try harder next time. Rarity, did you notice that there was a large laundry chute inside the closet over there?"

Rarity cocked her head to one side. "Well, yes… Wait… Oh no, I am NOT going in there. You can't make me!"

Discord rolled his eyes, picked up Rarity, covered her mouth with his lion's paw, and carried her to the chute in the closet. He opened it and tossed her down it. She slid away screaming, but the walls were too thick and the sounds didn't reverberate outside the room. Discord grinned. "I've been wanting to do that since I saw that chute," he chuckled. The knock at the door came again, though it was a little louder this time, and Discord knew that there were several armed guards along with the door knocker outside.

"I said room service! Are you in there?"

Discord fluttered his eyelashes for no particular reason and said, in a Rarity-like, high-pitched voice, "Oh darling, please be a dear and wait a moment. I need to finish putting on my mascara!"

Discord then attempted to teleport into Pinkie Pie's room. The same thing that blocked Flaming Star at the Freezelock stopped Discord. The unusual and mysterious technology had effectively disabled all forms of instantaneous traveling in Bray, Irrum, Equus, and everywhere else. At first Discord was a little put out, and was wondering what the hell could be happening, but a rap came again, with such force, that the door buckled a little. Discord then remembered what he had to do. He quickly opened the window to his room, climbed out elegantly, opened the window to Pinkie Pie's room, adjacent to his, and climbed in.

The room was decked out in streamers, balloons, and fliers, all which were pink.

"Heya Discord!" exclaimed Pinkie Pie, "you here for a PARTY?!"

Discord rolled his eyes, covered Pinkie Pie's mouth, picked her up, and tossed her down her laundry chute in the closet. He then himself dove down it. The slide was steep and fast, but it only lasted a minute before the two landed in a large pile of fluffy laundry. Discord shook his head to clear it and climbed out. Rarity was sitting in an adjacent pile, glaring at him.

"Oh dear, somepony has got a frowny-face!" chuckled Discord as he straightened up.

"Don't EVER do that to me again! Do you hear me?!" exclaimed Rarity.

Discord placed his eagle's claw appendage over his heart and said, "Of course, dear Rarity. Never again! Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye. There, are you satisfied?"

Rarity turned pointedly around. Discord dropped his teasing demeanor and then said, "Rarity, we have a problem."

Rarity slowly turned back around and said, "What do you mean?"

Discord noticed that Pinkie Pie was still in the pile of laundry, so he moved over and sat on it, trapping her beneath him. He smiled contentedly before continuing. "Well," he said, "Somepony has blocked my teleportation powers. This means not flashing in and out of existence, no teleporting to other places…"

"Well, that's good!" said Rarity, "That means no more jumpscares! You wouldn't believe how frustrating it is when you do those!"

Discord blinked. "We can't leave," he stated flatly.

Rarity's pupils shrunk. "Oh…" She fainted.

Discord sighed as Pinkie Pie exclaimed, "Um… I can't get up. Where is everypony?! Oooohhh… a pillow!"

Discord began, for the first time in his life, to consider his options. He was stuck here with two liabilities that he had promised the most powerful beings in Equestria that he would protect. Their hotel was also surrounded by a police force and army soldiers bent on capturing or killing them. He couldn't teleport, or run, which means he was stuck with the most distasteful third option: fight. Sighing, he got up and let Pinkie Pie get out of the laundry pile. He extended his lions paw and concentrated hard. It had been over two thousand years since he had tried to conjure anything other than silly distractions or funny pranks. Sweat began to trickle from his brow as he tried earnestly to conjure up fire. A small flame appeared in the center of his lion's paw, it slowly grew until it was a fist-sized fireball. He then morphed the fireball into a lava ball which he froze into an ice block. He then transformed the ice block into a mass of dark matter, which he then changed into a ball of lightning. He then snuffed out the lightning and smiled a sad smile. He was a prankster, the so-called "god of chaos" in this world; he wasn't a fighter, or a murderer. However, he had made a promise, and he intended to keep it, no matter how contrary what he was about to do was to his usual nature.

He went over to Rarity and shook her. "Wakey-wakey!" he said, "This is not a time for beauty sleep, Rarity!"

Rarity's eyes snapped open. "This wasn't a beauty sleep, Discord!" she exclaimed indignantly, "this was called dramatic fainting. Two VERY different things!"

Discord rolled his eyes, "Oh well, we can discuss the science of that later. What we need to do now is get out of this hotel. We are going to get to the ground level, where I am going to provide cover. We will then run and grab one of those delightful alliance Humvees. We then begin an awesome police chase around the city aimlessly!"

Rarity blinked. "Aimlessly?" she said, still a little lost for words.

Discord sighed. "Yes, well, that is as far as I have gotten, but we don't have much time. By now the guards have searched our rooms and are now searching the rest of the building. We need to act now! Let's go!"

Discord opened the door to the staircase and dramatically struck a pose. Rarity exited the laundry room with Pinkie Pie. Discord followed, closing the door on his way out. He then took his place at the head of the group as they cautiously climbed the staircase. It had not yet been searched, so everything was quiet. Soon they reached the ground-floor level door, and Discord eased it open. They were in a small hallway that fed in the center hallway of the Hotel de la Mule. He could make out Bray police and alliance soldiers galloping around, checking every nook and cranny. He sighed, this was the big moment.

He kicked open the door and shouted dramatically, "Gaze upon me, foul creatures! Behold the god of chaos in all his brilliance! Beware!"

The guards and soldiers looked at him… then started to shoot him. Discord threw up an energy shield that protected him and he rushed them.

"I will hold them off! You two head for the door and grab a vehicle of some sort! Make sure it has wheels and an engine, by the way. Seatbelts would be preferable." He yelled as he dropped the shield and hurled a fireball off in a random direction. He couldn't have hit water if he had fallen out of a boat.

Rarity nodded, her eyes wide with fear as she grabbed Pinkie Pie (who seemed oblivious to everything) and ran towards the door. Discord quickly cleared their path with a seismic blast that knocked the soldiers blocking the door aside. He hurled another large rolling fireball that caused the soldiers to scatter and then ran after Rarity. He opened the door, grabbed his two friends, and jumped behind a pillar as the Humvee machine guns opened up on them. He then quickly turned and hurled a bolt of explosive energy at the grand double doors of the hotel, bringing the whole thing down. No one was exiting that way now.

"I say, whoever's idea it was to make guns in this dimension was soooo stupid," muttered Discord as shrapnel and bullets flew around them.

Rarity peeked around the pillar, but then withdrew her head quickly as a hail of bullets punched through the air where her head had been moments before. She glanced at Discord, "Which vehicle should we take?" she yelled over the clamor.

Discord peeked around the corner. "Oh, I would say that large, heavily armored and guarded S.W.A.T. prisoner-transport truck."

Rarity peeked around the corner as well and exclaimed, "Are you mad? Why don't we just grab that one car thingy, um, Humvee, over there? It's unguarded! Whatever gave you the idea to go for that other one?!"

Discord stroked his chin, "Nothing really, my dear Rarity, just the fact that Pinkie Pie is, as of now, hopping towards it."

It was true, Pinkie Pie was hopping towards it blissfully as all the soldiers and Humvees shot at her. Remarkably, her Pinkie sense kept her from being hit. "Stop that!" she exclaimed irately, "I just want Gummy to see it up close!"

Rarity fainted. Discord sighed and tossed her over his shoulder. He then conjured up an energy shield that he levitated it front of him. He then rushed the soldiers. As they shot at him, he snapped the fingers of his free appendage and suddenly all the guards were dressed in pink tutus. They all stopped shooting for a moment to gaze indignantly down at their new garbs. This was all the distraction Discord needed. He grabbed Pinkie Pie, who was poking the vehicle with Gummy's tail, and hopped in. Discord tossed his two friends into the passenger seat and turned the key, which some idiot had left in the ignition. He then floored the gas pedal and rocketed out of the parking lot of the Hotel de la Mule. Immediately other vehicles started to chase them.

Rarity's eyes snapped open. She then realized Discord was driving a vehicle. "Have you ever driven before?" She yelled.

Discord shook his head. "Of course not! These weird contraptions weren't even in existence until Sunset Shadow showed up! Hang on!"

Rarity covered her eyes, and turned a shade of green. Pinkie Pie, on the other hoof, was enjoying the ride immensely. Suddenly there was a shout from the built-in jail compartment in the back of the van. Pinkie turned around.

"Oooh! Hello! Are you here for a ride as well? Isn't it fun?!" She exclaimed.

Discord turned his head to look at who Pinkie was speaking to. It was the prime senator, Pontius Donkius.

"Oh! Hello prime senator! Fancy meeting you here!" said Discord airily, "Aren't supposed to be off doing, oh I don't know, other things pertaining to betraying our trust?"

Pontius looked at him through the bars of the compartment as he said, "I don't know what you are talking about! Martique Muleen betrayed me! And now Bray is totally under the control of the alliance! They arrested me for conspiracies against the new alliance-backed senate!"

"Well that would explain the high security positioned around the vehicle when we grabbed it," commented Discord, who didn't seemed in the least bothered by the fact that RPG mounted Humvees had joined the chase.

"Listen, we need to get out of here!" said Pontius harshly, "I don't know what is going on, but somehow some unnatural creature is aiding the alliance! It has given them new technology and powers! No one can be trusted! In fact-"

Suddenly the vehicle skidded and rolled over as an RPG hit the back left wheel. The truck then flipped and tumbled down a deep precipice that was bordering the road that Discord had been driving down and then exploded into flames as it smashed against the ground far below.

* * *

**Note: I think Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Discord could be an awesome team... If Rarity could stop the dramatic fainting!**


	38. Chapter 38 - The Tasks

**Note: Okay! I've made changes to chapters 6 and 10. My personal suggestion is that you guys reread them for fun's sake when you are done with reading this chapter. Chapter 10 is, in my opinion, pretty awesome, with the battle between Sunset Shadow and Abbadon now hitting on a near planetary scale (yes, as in a planet getting pretty much destroyed). I would really appreciate it if you guys would, after rereading those updated chapters, spend a little time giving me some feedback on them. Thanks!**

* * *

_Dimension: My Little Pony_

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Twilight's Library_

_Time: Two days after the arrival of the Brothers in Arms corps_

Franklin groaned and opened his eyes. He had a cramp in his neck from leaning against his sister's bed, but he didn't mind it too much. After a bout of stretching, he looked at Night Shade who was curled up on Twilight's bed sleeping soundly. Franklin smiled. Night Shade was no doubt a powerful and skilled fighter, with tactical and combat skills that outshone many others, but underneath that he was still just an eleven year old boy. The house shook a little bit as Daniel, still in his dragon form, awakened and straightened up. He poked his head through the bedroom window and grinned at Franklin.

"You really look creepy as a dragon, you know that?" said Franklin grumpily.

Daniel rolled his eyes and snorted a blast of hot air. "Honestly. This form is the coolest ever. I can literally feel fire building in my chest whenever I breathe. I can sense the heat changes in beings around me, and I can draw geothermal energy from the earth itself. This form is literally my element."

Franklin blinked. "You see this face?" he said, "This is my 'not caring' face."

Daniel was about to retort when Night Shade gave a huge yawn and sat up. He looked around blearily.

"Hey team," he mumbled, "What's up?"

Franklin winked at him, "Nothing yet kiddo, just Daniel's head. Don't stand up or you'll end up ramming his jaw. Not that it wouldn't be funny, though."

Daniel shook his head as he pulled back a little bit so that Night Shade could straighten up. "Do our morning always have to be this way?" he said, "I mean, literally, we've had arguments every morning for the past four years."

Franklin grinned, "It is part of our daily routine. Now that that's through, I can mark it off on my itinerary."

With that, Franklin turned his head to look at Miranda. She was still sleeping soundly. He put an ear near her face. Her breathing was calm and steady. He then looked at Daniel who was now trying to get his head out of the window with the help of Night Shade.

"When you're done with that, meet me downstairs, let's see what we can do about breakfast," laughed Franklin.

Just as Daniel got his head out, the front door downstairs flew open and Sunset galloped in, his eyes full of fear.

Franklin leapt over the stair's banister and landed on the ground quickly. He ran up to Sunset and said, "What's the matter?"

Sunset took a deep breath. He then said, "Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, and Flaming Star are in Ponyville. Princess Twilight attempted to stop the alliance at Yolk pass but was captured. Then the war trains continued on to the Freezelock pass where Flaming Star was waiting with his tank emplacements. The trains were armed with Star Wars-grade Heavy Turbo Laser cannons. They decimated our tank battalions. Flaming Star managed to derail the thing and close the pass afterwards, but the alliance has a large invasion force in Equestria now…"

Franklin grimaced. "This isn't good," he interjected, "The alliance guys are the bad guys, correct?"

"Well, considering they used Heavy Turbo Laser cannons against the firstborn, I would assume they are bad guys," said Night Shade as he trotted downstairs.

"That's another thing," said Franklin, "How the hell did some weird pony group get a hold of weapons such as that? It's not like those things grow on trees… right?"

Sunset simply shook his head. "No," he sighed, "But that isn't the worst of it. After he heard Twilight was captured, Flaming Star tried to teleport into the nation of Bray, which is now amalgamated with the alliance. He found that his portal traveling and teleportation was blocked in those areas. In fact, he found that he's been stripped of all our teleportation powers. I've tried as well, they've all been inhibited."

Franklin's face drained of color. "What?" Both he and Night Shade tried to open a portal, than teleport. Both were blocked.

Sunset nodded. "The traveler-blocking technology we were developing during the demon-traveler war has been completed by somebody or something, and now it is being used against us."

Daniel then stuck his head through the front door. "I understand that this is grievous news and all, with that technology finally being developed," he said calmly, "But I would appreciate it if you guys took the conversation outside so I can listen better."

Sunset, Franklin, and Night Shade quickly went outside and sat down on the front step.

"Well," said Daniel promptly, "I understand that we can no longer use instantaneous traveling methods to attack our enemies, but that doesn't make those lands inaccessible. We just have to enter them on foot, or in the air."

"That's easy for you to say, Mr. Dragon," snorted Franklin, who had regained his composure, "but I like my portal traveling! It saves sooooo much time!"

The small group was suddenly joined by Celestia, Luna, and Flaming Star.

"The human is Franklin, the black Pegasus is Night Shade, and the dragon is Daniel. They are the dimensional travelers I was talking to you about," said Flaming Star.

Celestia bowed her head as she said, "It is an honor to meet you three."

Franklin got up and gave her a flourishing bow, something he had gotten quite good at. "It is a pleasure to meet you as well, your highness."

The group then all sat down in a circle in front of Twilight's house. It was a remarkably odd sight for any passersby.

"What is our position with the alliance in our lands, Flaming Star?" asked Celestia as soon as everyone was settled.

"The Freezelock pass is down, so there will be no supplies for any pony going in or out," said Flaming Star, "this means that the alliance troops will not be getting fresh soldiers any time soon. However, they are all heavily armed. There are even Infantry Fighting Vehicles amongst them."

"Have they done anything?" asked Luna.

"Nothing yet, it seems that they are regrouping, my derailment of their train must have disturbed their plans somewhat. I've sent Rainbow Dash to meet with Commander Hurricane in Cloudsdale. The two will have a scout network up in no time. We will hear about the alliance movements regularly soon. Now I have a question of my own: has Martique said anything more about the situation in Bray?"

Celestia sighed and bowed her head. "He has said a little more. It seems that Pontius had sent him away alone with Twilight, which made them very easy targets. He figures that while he was working out the details of the plot, Pontius sent someone ahead of him to disable the explosives to ensure that Twilight couldn't set them off. Now he thinks that Bray is probably completely under the control of the alliance thanks to Pontius back-stabbing him."

"Does this mean Rarity is any kind of trouble?" asked Sunset anxiously.

Celestia nodded sadly as she replied, "I asked him about it. Martique said that they are probably hostages now, awaiting an alliance verdict."

Sunset groaned and buried his face in his hoofs. Flaming Star ground his teeth. "First Twilight, now Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Discord. It's almost as if we've been played from the beginning, the Harmony bearers cannot function without each other!"

"That's right!" exclaimed Franklin, "this place has the harmony tree unit! Wow, this IS a special place!"

Daniel nodded, "I forgot about that. I suppose you guys don't get demon invasions very often then."

Sunset waved a hoof off in a general direction, "Yeah, yeah, just Xaphan, Legion, and Abbadon over the past few years. What we need to do now is make sure that all the other Harmony bearers stay safe in Ponyville. We can't risk them trying to launch impromptu rescues missions for Twilight or the others."

"Says the guy whose wife and child are safe and sound," said Flaming Star angrily, "Last time I checked, it was MY fillyfriend who was in danger. I'm not resting until I've rescued her."

Sunset sighed deep and long. "If that's what you are set on doing, then do it," he said, "but we have no idea where she is, and with our teleportation abilities rendered useless, we cannot just search places randomly without repercussions."

"We'll help you," said Franklin suddenly, "I know that we've never really gotten along with you, firstborn, but you helped us when my sister was in trouble. We owe you."

Daniel nodded. "I agree with Franklin," He said, "We will help you search for her. Do you have a starting place?"

Flaming Star looked at them and said, "We'll split up. I'm going to go with Spike to infiltrate Irrum, Corona Oscura seemed the most dangerous of the two alliance leaders. You guys go to Bray and see if there is any sign of what happened to her in the Yolk pass, which is a couple of kilometers west of the Bray capitol, Don Keyxote. Bray is just north of the Frozen north of Equestria."

Daniel nodded and he spread his wings wide. "We'll leave at once," he stated. There was a pause as Franklin and Night Shade looked at him. Daniel then snorted out a blast of flame and said, "FINE. You two, get on my back. We're going to Bray."

Celestia got up. "You all go and do as you said you will," she said, "We will continue to discuss our situation with Hor Sey, Saddle Arabia, and the Crystal Empire."

"Be careful," added Luna. With that, the two Princesses left the group to go to talk to Mayor Mare. Sunset got up as well. "I'm making breakfast at my house," he said, "if anyone of you wants to come to my house and eat, you will be welcome."

"Oooohhh… is there any BACON?" asked Franklin with elation.

Sunset glared at him. "NO Franklin. You are living in a dimension of vegetarians, so get over it."

Franklin rolled his eyes. "I'm hating this place more and more," he muttered. He then hopped onto Daniels back with Night Shade.

Daniel gave Sunset and Flaming Star a quick nod before spreading his wings and taking to the air with powerful flaps of his wings. Soon he began to sail off to the Frozen north.

Sunset gave Flaming Star a side-long glance. "Spike is already at my place," he said, "do you wish to join be for breakfast?"

Flaming Star nodded his head, "I suppose I will. I'm really sorry for my briskness lately, but it eats me up that the one pony who really loves me is in mortal danger that I cannot stop."

Sunset smiled sadly. "I understand," he replied, "I don't know how I would react if my Fluttershy was captured, or Starlight Amber. It's been several years since I went into a killing frenzy, but something like that could trigger it."

Flaming Star gave a shaking sigh as he said, "I'm on the edge of one of my own really. But I suppose there is nothing I can do about it… yet. Let's go."

With that, the two ponies cantered off to Sunset's house for breakfast.

* * *

_Dimension: My Little Pony_

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Somewhere over the Unicorn Range_

_Time: Two days after the arrival of the Brothers in Arms corps_

"Soooooo… what's the plan?" said Franklin as he rode Daniel.

"The plan is that if you kick me in the side one more time, I'm going to do a barrel roll and send you two spiraling to your deaths," replied Daniel in a strained voice, "This is so humiliating."

"Hey, you're taking one for the team," pointed out Franklin as he shifted into a position that would keep him from further aggravating Daniel with his feet.

"Still… I don't really like it."

Franklin sighed, "Whatever. Here is the real plan that I thought up in six and a half seconds, we're going to fly over Bray and figure out which is the capitol building, which will no doubt contain alliance representatives. We will sail in and scare the hell out of a bunch of mules and pones and stuff. We will then force them all to give us Flaming Star's fillyfriend… what was her name again?"

"Twilight," replied Night Shade, "her name is Twilight."

"Yeah, Twilight," said Franklin, "anyway, this plan doesn't need much depth because we're playing with amateurs here; they have no idea who we're dealing with. Heck, I probably have more power in one finger than they have in their entire army!"

"Be careful there, Franklin," said Daniel, "someone is supplying them with technology that is foreign even to dimensional travelers. The signs of a powerful adversary have been pretty huge so far. Heavy Turbo Laser cannons, instantaneous travel inhibitors, etcetera. We will need a better plan than 'fly in randomly.'"

"Okay Mr. Optimistically Pessimistic," snorted Franklin, "What is your plan?"

"I don't know as of yet, I am still parsing it out," replied Daniel.

"Well parse it out faster, we don't have much time before we enter Bray territory," said Franklin.

"Then stop jabbering and let Daniel think," interrupted Night Shade.

Franklin rolled his eyes but kept quiet. It stayed like this for quite some time.

* * *

_Dimension: My Little Pony_

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Sunset and Fluttershy's house_

_Time: Two days after the arrival of the Brothers in Arms corps_

"You want me to do what?" said Spike as he ate with Flaming Star, Sunset, Fluttershy, and Starlight Amber.

"You want him to do what?" added Fluttershy as she fed her foal with a spoon.

"I want you to come with me as I infiltrate Irrum territory," said Flaming Star, "You've been Twilight's faithful companion for a really long time, and I think you should be with me as we work to recover her."

Spike thought about it for a moment, then his eyes hardened. "You're right," he said, "I will help you. She needs me."

"She does, and I need you as well," said Flaming Star, "Remember: I don't choose my teammates lightly, I've chosen you specifically for a reason."

"Oh dear, all this talk about infiltrating sounds scary," murmured Fluttershy.

"And distasteful," added Sunset, "But don't worry dear, we're safe here."

"That's another thing," said Flaming Star, with a little iron in his tone, "Why have you done nothing?"

Sunset looked at Flaming Star and said, "I am NOT killing any being ever again. What we are dealing with here is war, and I want no part in it. There has been no draft, or selective service, so I have every right to keep my hoofs clean of this all."

Flaming Star stared Sunset in the eyes, "But is it the honorable thing?"

"Don't speak of honor to me, firstborn," said Sunset, "there is no honor in war, even when there is an obvious 'good guy' and 'bad guy' side. I will help, of course, I owe it to Twilight and to Equestria, but it will not be with a weapon in my hand or conjured fire around my fist."

"You mean hoofs," corrected Flaming Star.

Sunset glared at him, "You know what I mean. I will help, but it will be as a planner, and a consultant. In fact, I'm going to meet with Celestia, Luna, Shining Armor, and Cadence in a couple of days to discuss war matters."

Flaming Star sighed. "I'm sorry," he said, "As I said, I'm a little on edge. In fact, Spike, we should get ready to go."

"Go?! I haven't had ninths yet!" exclaimed Spike. However, he caught Flaming Star's no-nonsense eye and sighed, "Okay… fine."

"We'll be gone for a while," said Flaming Star as he got up, "I don't know how things will go, but this is goodbye for a time."

Sunset smiled and shook Flaming Star's hoof. He then gave Spike a hug. Fluttershy followed up by hugging them both.

"Say bye-bye to Flaming Star and Spike, Starlight!" said Fluttershy as Flaming Star and Spike left the house.

Starlight Amber waved.

* * *

**Note: Does anyone want to see more of the Cutie Mark Crusaders or any of the Mane 6? Just wondering. Anyway, don't forget the R&R stuff! Give me feedback! Thanks!**


	39. Chapter 39 - Lies and Truths

_Dimension: Unknown_

_Planet: Unknown_

_Specific Location: Unknown_

_Time: Unknown_

Twilight opened her eyes groggily. At first she didn't even try to move, waiting for her vision to focus and the ringing in her head to stop. The moment it did, she tried to move, but found that she was stuck. She was strapped to a white metal table, belly-up, spread-eagled with her hoofs and wings clamped down. She tried to use her magic to free herself, but her horn was encased in some leather-like harness that prevented her from using it. She gave up trying to escape and sighed. She then noticed that two strange looking creatures, armed with powerful-looking blasters, standing at the other end of the room. Their faces were hideous, chalk white with large red eyes, and they were looking straight at her.

"H-hello?" she said nervously. One of the creatures turned to the other and said, "the My Little Pony native is awake, send word to him."

The other nodded and quickly exited the room. The other creature strolled up and pointed a blaster gun straight at her stomach. Twilight froze. The two were like this for a couple of minutes. Soon the one who had run off entered. He was followed by one of the most intimidating, yet wondrous of beings Twilight had ever seen. He was twelve feet tall, bipedal, covered in full, white-colored, body armor. His face was encased in a masked helmet. The face-plate had a visor shaped like a rising four-pronged star that was glowing gold. Bands of gold and red colors ran from his shoulder-plates down his powerful arms, around his wrists, to the back of his hands. He truly was a sight.

This being looked at the two creatures and signaled them out. Bowing low, the two creatures complied and scurried from the room. The door shut automatically behind them. The being then turned to Twilight. There was a pause as the two stared at each other. Then he strolled towards her and began to take the clamps and harness off.

"I apologize for this," said the being, "I did not mean for them to handle you so roughly. You should not have been in a posture like this in the first place. I am so sorry."

He then helped her to the ground. She continued to gaze at the being in wonder.

"Are you… the Paradox?" she said in awe.

The being chuckled, "Some call me that, others call me the Unknown, and others call me Artakha. However, when I appear to most, I look like this…"

With that, the Paradox shimmered and burst into an explosion of pure light. His radiance filled the entire room, and Twilight fell to the ground. After a moment, the Paradox transformed back into his original form. He smiled and lifted Twilight's chin. "Tell me about yourself, Twilight."

Twilight blinked. "There's not much to talk about. I'm just a regular pony."

"Oh, but you are much more than that, dearest," the Paradox said calmly, "You are a wonder. You have friends, dreams, aspiration, and they are all pure. In fact, you are the harmony bearer of magic, something incredibly important in the My Little Pony dimension. Your worth is untold."

Twilight blushed, but said, "I really think I'm no better than the next pony."

"Perhaps you do," replied the Paradox, "but there are certain attributes given that perhaps make one 'pony' better than the other. You are a special case, Twilight."

Twilight looked at the Paradox and said, "I don't understand. What's going on? Why did you capture me?"

The Paradox looked at her. Then he sighed, "There is a plan… It must be done. I only need you here for a while, Twilight. You're friends are all safe. Equestria is safe."

Twilight shook her head. "No, it's not," she said, "Equetria is in the grips of war because I failed in a single task."

Overcome by emotions, Twilight sat down, looked at her hoofs and began to weep. She then looked up and said, "Why? Why have you captured me? Why did you stop me?"

"Why do you believe I stopped you, little one?" asked the Paradox, who got down on his knees.

"Well, I was captured by Corona Oscura who wasn't Corona Oscura, and then brought here!" she said.

"Ah, Corona Oscura. You are right, that is not him, it is simply a guise taken on by one of my elite servants."

"Then you… then you're the one who instigated the war against us then!" exclaimed Twilight, who shot up and began to scramble away. "How COULD you?" she said, feeling anger bubble in her chest, "You're the Paradox! You gave Flaming Star his powers! You gave Sunset Shadow his powers! You gave ALL those dimensional travelers powers so that they could spread peace, and here you are, conjuring up war in my homeland as if it was a game!"

The Paradox simply stayed where he was, kneeling down. Slowly his head drooped and he sighed again. After a long pause, he stood up and extended a hand, palms-up. Suddenly a holographic projection popped from his palm. It floated into the air and expanded until it filled the entire room.

"Do you know what Reavers are, dearest?" he said.

Twilight shook her head, still torn between anger, wonder, and sadness.

"These are Reavers."

Abruptly the holographic interface was full of images of humans, who had their faces bloodied, mutilated, twisted, killing and eating other humans. They burned down homes, dragged women and children out onto the streets so that they could skin their prey alive. Twilight gave out a wretched cry of horror and she buried her face in her hoofs, trying simultaneously to block out the sounds and the images. With a slight gesture, the Paradox stopped the images and closed them.

"They exist in the Firefly/Serentiy dimension. They are abominations and they live only to kill. Do you know what a Reaver would do to you, little one?"

Trembling, Twilight shook her head meekly.

The Paradox shook his head sadly. "It would break your limbs. Then it would rape you for hours and hours and hours. Finally, it would skin you and cut off your limbs, forcing you so inch through the dust as your blood flowed into the ground. Finally they would eat you… while you were still conscious. Lower abdomen up."

Twilight covered her ears. After a bit more trembling, she tentatively removed her hoofs and looked at the Paradox. "Why have you shown me these things?"

As if she wasn't even there, the Paradox stared off into the distance and said, more to himself than anyone else, "They are not it, though. In the Warhammer 40K dimension there are the Dark Elders, who feed off your nightmares. In the Star Wars dimension there are the Anzati who eat your brains while you are conscious, and consume your mental essence. In the Star Trek dimension there are the Borg, who will force you to become nothing less than a mindless servant, forced to die at a word without a second thought. In the World of Starcraft dimension, there are the Zerg, blood-thirsty masses living only to consume and murder. In the Earth Prime… Well, in Earth Prime there are humans. Masses of self-righteous monstrosities who cause millions of deaths every sun-cycle."

Twilight, her eyes wide, stared at the Paradox. "What?"

The Paradox turned his head to look at her. "I have been trying for eons to cure the multiverse of a cancer I thought was the most prevalent: demons. However, after those eons of my Brotherhood and I trying to crush them, we realized that they were not the only cancer to be eating away at us. We discovered that each multiverse had some twisted aspect, some monstrous form that manifests itself. No dimension was exempt, all had and still has a exponentially growing cancer. All have diseases so deep that we deem it all impossible to uproot."

"But what about us?" said Twilight in a small voice, "What about Ponyville, and Canterlot?"

"Dearest," chuckled the Paradox, "You universe is not the only My Little Pony dimension. There are others; other timelines where other things occurred. Do you realize, in one of these, Pinkie Pie murders and eats you and your other friends?"

Twilight's pupils shrunk. "W-w-what?"

Paradox nodded his head. "My Brotherhood has been studying the multiverse since the beginning of eternity. We have watched every nook and cranny, and have collected every possible piece of data imaginable. We have made an equation for the fate of the multiverse, and we have made a verdict: the multiverse is evil. There is no way that good will ever prevail."

Twilight shook her head vigorously. "You can't possibly think that! Why would you have given the dimensional travelers powers and told them to spread peace if you knew that they could not win?"

"Simple, I just did. I knew they could not win. I knew there would be an era of anarchy. But it is all part of the plan. You see, we've been collecting the data and processing the equation for eternity, but we only reached our conclusion eight-thousand years ago."

"Eight thousand… does this mean your 'verdict' came when you made Flaming Star a traveler?"

"Indeed. He most certainly is part of our solution, though it might not be in the way he thinks I meant."

"What…? But… what about my homeland? Why have you waged war against it using the Equus-Irrum alliance?"

"The Harmony units are more important than you know, little one. Right now, they are in the wrong hoofs. For our plan to continue, it must be passed on to one who really knows our plans, and understands them."

"You don't need to do this! Just talk to Princess Celestia! She's wise! She'll know what to do!"

"You princess has kept certain truths from you, dearest. I approached her just before Dathan Enosson, or Regal Crescent, planted the tree of harmony. I asked her to perform certain tasks when the time came, she refused. I warned her, but she ignored my reasoning. However, she was so disturbed by our meeting that she has not told a soul about it, even her beloved sister, about it. You see? Ever pony has their faults, and where there are faults, there is the cancer that I have tried so hard to clean."

"But… but…"

"I must go, Twilight. I will return. You will be here for a bit, but do not fret, if all goes well, you will not be harmed. The time is almost here. The plan is in its final stages."

The Paradox then left and the automatic door slammed shut behind him. Twilight thought over the things that the Paradox had said, and sat in a corner fretting for her friends.

Paradox strolled by the guards. As he did so, he said, "I have given her the required information, ensure that she does not escape until I say so."

* * *

_Dimension: My Little Pony_

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Sunset and Fluttershy's House_

_Time: Three days after the arrival of the Brothers in Arms corps_

Sunset woke up. The first thing he saw as he opened his eyes was his lovely wife Fluttershy. He smiled and kissed her on the forehead. He slowly sat up, rubbed the sleep from his eyes, and looked around. In the corner was Starlight Amber's crib. The little foal was sleeping peacefully. He sighed contentedly and stretched. Quietly he trotted downstairs and out the door. He cantered through the still-sleeping Ponyville as he made his way to Twilight's house. Knocking on the door, he called quietly, "Applejack? Thanks for watching over Miranda, I'll take the wheel now."

The door opened and a sleepy-eyed Applejack trotted out to greet him.

"Mornin' Sunset! How ya' doin'?"

"I'm doing fine, Applejack. How was your night?"

"A little less than dandy. Miranda is awake now, but I can't tell if she's crazy or normal. Talkin' weird if ya' know what I mean. Weird though, she ain't wailed about a single demon for the last couple o' days."

Sunset's ears pricked up in interest He nodded and said, "Well, you better get back to Sweet Apple Acres for some real sleep. I'll watch over her now."

Applejack smiled and slowly cantered out. Sunset entered the Library and trotted up the stairs to where Miranda was. Miranda was wide awake, and staring out the window. As Sunset entered, she turned her bright eyes to him and said, "Oh! Hello! Who are you?"

Sunset smiled, "I'm Sunset. I'm a friend."

Miranda nodded. "Hello Sunset. It's a wonderful day, isn't it?"

Sunset trotted over to sit next to her. "It is a wonderful day. How was your night? Did you sleep well?"

Miranda gave him a huge smile. "It most certainly was. There were demons at first, but the Light Man scared them away."

Sunset blinked. "The Light Man?"

Miranda nodded. "Oh yes, he's visited my mind for a while now. Scares away the demons. He tells me stuff too. All sorts of stuff."

Sunset nodded slowly. "Stuff. Like... what, for example?"

Miranda cocked her head on one side and she looked off into the distance. "Numbers mostly. Square root of negative one. Two cubed. The sum sign of an equation. The ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter. Sometimes he tells me things about Light Men like him."

Sunset was a little worried. Either something extremely interesting was happening here, or Miranda had finally gone completely insane.

"What is the Light Man like?" he said, trying to sound interested and not totally worried.

Miranda sighed dreamily. "He looks like a shaft of light. A human, swathed in golden rays."

"The Paradox?" said Sunset, now genuinely interested.

Miranda turned her bright eyes to gaze upon Sunset curiously. "Who is the Paradox?"

"The one who gave you your powers. The dimensional travelers true leader. The embodiment of good."

Miranda thought about what Sunset had said for a moment. Then she said, "I know of him. My Light Man says he's a liar."

Sunset now honestly thought Miranda was crazy. "What? Soooooo... Your Light Man is not the Paradox, and claims that our leader is a liar?"

Miranda nodded. "He tells me that the other Light Man will kill us. He has a plan. The new plan. 'He means well,' Light Man told me, 'But he is doing it all wrong. We are not all under his rule.' He says lots of other things. But mostly numbers. He's talking to me right now. Hello Light Man!"

Sunset began to inch away. Miranda looked at Sunset. "The Light Man tells me to tell you not to go away."

Sunset sighed. He decided that as long as Miranda was not violent, he could tolerate her. Perhaps he could even talk reason to her.

"He says hello," said Miranda, whose eyes had become glazed over, "He says he wants to say something."

"Tell the Light Man to leave you alone," said Sunset warily, "Tell him that this is your mind, and he has no right to tell you what to do."

Miranda giggled. "The Light Man is laughing," she said, "he says he knows you think I'm crazy. 'She may be a little kooky,' he says, 'But she, as of yet, is the best means of communication. The portals are being monitored.'"

Sunset shook his head. "I don't understand... What are you talking about?" he asked.

Miranda blinked. "He says he knows you doubt. But not for long. He says started your Facebook account in 2008 A.D. Earth Prime years. He says your first picture you posted on it was you holding a Peanuts comic and waving at the camera. He says that you called Abimael an idiot twelve times in total. He says you're afraid that you will accidentally burn your haycakes during the cookoff next week... He also says you were a really awesome FreeFall Tournamet player, but he could get more kills in his sleep."

Sunset was totally confused now. Either this Light Man was really real and was toying with him, or Miranda was psychic and was being rude. What Miranda was saying was true, including the FreeFall Tournament part.

"Tell the Light Man to tell me his real name," said Sunset slowly, trying to keep calm.

Miranda paused. She then said, "He says he can't. But he wants to tell you something."

Sunset nodded. "I am willing to hear it."

"Oh... They're numbers. 27 45 23.2878... Oh, also there is more: -103 21 31.75"

Despite the fact that Miranda had pretty much mumbled the numbers, those integers burned themselves into Sunset's mind. Suddenly Miranda shook her head and looked around.

"I... feel... fine..." she said, as if she could hardly believe it, "No more demons, and no more nightmares. They're just... gone... Along with that bright light..."

Sunset eyed Miranda, who looked at him and smiled. It was obvious she was totally unaware of what had just transpired. Nevertheless, her eyes were clear, and her pupils were not dilating. She was sane. Whatever thing that had invaded her mind and given him those numbers had cleared her mind of the horrors she had endured... and made her normal again.

"Where is everyone?" said Miranda after an enormous pause.

Sunset sighed, his mind still fluttering with unanswered questions. He smiled a little and then said, "Oh, they're out and about, doing interesting stuff and the like. You know."

Miranda winked. "Where are those adorable little foals I met when I fell out of that tree? I want to see them again!"

Sunset smiled. "Their names are Sweetie Bell, Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo. They're the Cutie Mark Crusaders."

"What's a cutie mark?"

"It's on your flank."

"Oh! That's pretty, isn't it?"

* * *

**IMPORTANT NOTE: Hey guys! Okay, I want to say that I need ONE MORE dimensional traveler. ****If anyone wants to pitch me an idea for one, please feel free to do so now. ****Either via review or by PM, send me a name, age, sex, species (human, pony, etc.), physical features, personality, preferred powers, combat orientation (do they fight aggressively, passively, etc.), backstory (if you have a lengthy one, please PM it to me) and whether or not you want them to stay in pony form and adopt a pony name if they go to the MLP dimension. Oh, and to the Brothers in Arms guys: you three can feel free to send me more ideas too if you want another one of your OCs to show up. Thanks!**


	40. Chapter 40 - Search and Rescue

_Dimension: My Little Pony_

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Cloudsdale airforce base_

_Time: Three days after the arrival of the Brothers in Arms corps_

Commander Hurricane raised an eyebrow as Rainbow Dash came zooming in to land next to her.

"Heya Commander! It is an HONOR to meet you!" said Rainbow enthusiastically.

Hurricane blinked her eyes slowly. She nodded her head. "It is almost good to see you as well."

Rainbow looked at her in confusion. "Almost?"

Hurricane turned around and began to trot off to a large Cloudsdale building. "Almost. You were thirty seconds late."

"Thirty seconds? Why, is that bad?"

"Why is it bad? Well, let's see, in thirty seconds I could have killed a minimum of two ponies. Also, in thirty seconds I could have destroyed the Tree of Harmony. Thirty seconds is a long time, Miss Dash, and since you are Equestria's self-proclaimed champion of the air, I expect to see more."

Rainbow gaped. Quickly she regained her composure and she saluted stoutly. "Yes sir! I mean ma'am! I mean yes ma'am!"

Hurricane sighed. "Follow me. In here are the maps of Equestria and the surrounding lands. With the Freezelock pass down, we're going to be needed for a lot more than just air reconnaissance now."

Rainbow saluted again and quickly galloped into the building behind Commander Hurricane.

"So, what experience have you had in combat?" said Hurricane briskly as she spread out a map of Equestria on a large cloud table.

"Um... none really. I helped defend Equestria against ten demons once, but that was just terrible."

Hurricane glanced at Rainbow and said, "Demons huh? I've heard rumors and seen the tapes. They seem like a powerful lot. How many did you kill?"

Rainbow shook her head vigorously. "I didn't kill any! I knocked one out while he was fighting Princess Celestia though."

Hurricane rolled her eyes. "No kill count no honor kid. Anyways, we need to begin to finish up the air grids of Equestria. According to Commander Flaming Star, the area her derailed the Equus-Irrum alliance train was about two kilometers south of the Freezelock pass. Given standard idleness relocation spread calculations, that would put the alliance army to about here."

Hurricane placed a large red pin on an area just north of the Galloping Gorge. Rainbow nodded, trying to look wise.

"We will send scouts out in a large perimeter to watch for their movements," continued Hurricane, "We will repeat this process once every two hours to ensure we get a good trajectory of where they're initially heading. Quiz time rookie, where might they go for?"

Rainbow looked at the map. "Vanhoover or Canterlot. Vanhoover because it's closest, or Canterlot because that is the capitol."

Hurricane nodded. "Nice kid. I think it will be Vanhoover. If they take it, they will have a sea port where they will be able to sail in extra supplies from Equus."

Rainbow looked at Hurricane, "Soooo... when will we be starting these scouting runs?"

Hurricane glanced at a large clock on the nearby wall. "In a minute."

"A minute?! I better get going then!" exclaimed Rainbow Dash. She was about to bolt out the door when Commander Hurricane said, "Slow down there kid. Where do you think you're going?"

"Well... to fly with the rest! That's what we do right? We're leaders!" explained Rainbow as she continued to inch towards the door.

Hurricane shook her head. "No can do, kid. You're right, we're leaders. But if we die like idiot heroes, do you know that what makes us? Idiotic and DEAD heroes. Sure the history books will remember us, but it will also note that we died because we were stupid. So stupid in fact that we lost the war and caused the entire land of Equestria to go down in flames. All because we thought we were the action-movie kind of leaders."

Rainbow blinked. "Waitwaitwaitwait... So you're saying we're not to be heroes? Sunset said..."

"I know what Sunset said, he said the same to me," interrupted Hurricane with a roll of her eyes, "But I don't give a half-a-bit about what he says. Sure he's the 'Star-swirled the Bearded' of our time, but he doesn't truly know what it means to command."

Rainbow's eyes hardened. "He knows more about it than you do!" she exclaimed indignantly, "He understands the costs, but knows that we must do it because otherwise evil will triumph."

Hurricane laughed. "Oh no, not another good-versus-evil spiel. You don't know how many of those I've encountered over the years. There is no good and there is no evil. There are only winners and losers. You win, you're the good guy. If you lose, you're the bad guy. It's as simple as that! So, in order to win, we must choose not to be morons and play-act the hero. Got it?"

Rainbow could hardly believe that self-righteous, moronic pony she was talking to was the descendent of the great Commander Hurricane. She shook her head, trying to clear it of all the things Hurricane had said. She sighed.

"I don't know... I just don't know," she muttered.

Hurricane sighed as well. "Well, you'll know soon enough. When the time comes, you'll see that I'm right."

With that, the two pretty much stood on opposite sides of the room, pretending to do something important and yet not doing anything particularly useful at al. This went on for about two hours. Then, finally, a Pegasus scout cantered into the building and went straight Commander Hurricane. He handed her a package containing photographs and specs from the scouts spotting the movements of the alliance troopers. Commander Hurricane opened up the package and checked the initial report page. After a moment, she nodded to herself and trotted over to the cloud table where Rainbow Dash was, looking at her expectantly. Hurricane tossed the package and the pictures out onto the table over the map of Equestria.

"You see these?" she said, pointing to each of the pictures, "Do you recognize the areas?"

"That looks like the Unicorn Range…" muttered Rainbow Dash. She snatched up the initial report page and read it quickly. The first thing that caught her eye was the title: "Short encounter between Smoke Mountain. Alliance troops relocating around the range."

Rainbow Dash looked up at Hurricane, her eyes wide. "They're going to attack Ponyville!" she exclaimed.

Hurricane rolled her eyes as she took back the report page. "No, no, no, no. They only want the possibility of a Ponyville attack to be a front. Ponyville is not nearly important enough to pose any sort of foothold for a cut-off invading army."

"Not important enough?! Us Harmony bearers live there!"

"DID live there. Last time I checked, Princess Twilight Sparkle was in the custody of the enemy. They know that, and they know that we need all of you together to harness the power of the elements of Harmony. Thus, you, your friends, and the town is useless. This is a front."

"What?! My friends and I aren't useless!"

"Okay. You and your friends are not seen as a threat to them. They will not risk a chance of an ambush, getting boxed in, or losing valuable time over attacking a small town. No, they are obviously using it as a distraction so we will relocate valuable soldiers to protect the town while they really launch an attack against Las Pegasus."

"Huh? Las Pegasus? Why?"

"Isn't it obvious? Like Vanhoover, it is a port town. The alliance army really needs a port town so Equus can ship in supplies. Since they're obviously not going to Vanhoover, and they are not stupid enough to attack Canterlot, they're using a clever distract-and-disrupt tactic so they can seize Las Pegasus."

"Um… okay… What are we going to do?"

"I was going to ask the same thing of you, kid."

"Oh. Wellllllllll… I suppose what I would do is send a couple of squadrons of troops to Ponyville to make it look like we are falling for their distraction. While we do that, we will really post the rest of the entire army at and around Las Pegasus. They will think their distraction is working and will continue to Las Pegasus to invade it. While they're doing that, we will ambush them."

"Nice, I like it. I'll admit it, kid, you have the brains. This is what I'm going to do: I'll order the Pegasus airforce to send raids against the alliance to slow them down. While they're doing that, I'll send a squadron to Ponyville. They will make it look like the place is fully prepared for an invasion. I will then send whatever tanks we have left and the rest of the army to the hills before Las Pegasus and tell them to lay low. The alliance army will march straight through to Las Pegasus, thinking their distraction worked. Then… we'll pounce on them and wipe them out. The invasion will have been stopped cold in its tracks."

"Awesome…"

"I know… Awesome. Anyway, what are we waiting around for? Let's get moving!"

* * *

_Dimension: My Little Pony_

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: The outskirts of Don Keyxote_

_Time: Three days after the arrival of the Brothers in Arms corps_

A large group of alliance troopers and Bray police donkeys gathered around the edge of the precipice, looking down at the flaming wreak that was the stolen S.W.A.T. prisoner-transfer van.

"No pony is coming out of there," said one soldier.

"I agree. It's totaled. Let's get a move-on and report back to headquarters to tell them that the threat has been elimanted, but we've lost the hostages Pontius and Rarity," said another.

"They are not important to the plan in the long run," said a captain next to the two soldiers, "Let us go."

The soldiers and the police donkeys got into their vehicles and drove away. There was a long moment of silence in the gorge. Suddenly, the flaming vehicle at the bottom flew into the air and landed a distance away from it original position. Discord, with him and his friends surrounded by a protective energy shield, had tossed it aside as if it had been a plastic toy. He straightened up and dusted himself off.

"Well," he said, "That was a minor inconvenience."

Rarity exclaimed, "A MINOR inconvenience?! You have no idea how traumatized I've been. I've fainted more times in the last couple of hours than I have in my entire life!"

Discord conjured up a long list with a red pen. He put on glasses and checked it.

"This is your 'fainting' record. Let's see, Miss Rarity… Hmmmm… nope. No, you have certainly fainted more times in your life than in the past couple of hours. I apologize."

Discord grinned at her as he vaporized the pen, paper, and glasses. Rarity just rolled her eyes. "Well, fine," she said, "It doesn't matter. What matters now is how we're going to get out of Bray!"

"I would be more worried about getting out of the gorge first," sighed Pontius, sizing up the extensive stone walls of the gorge.

"Discord! You could make us balloons! We could float up!" exclaimed Pinkie with an excited bounce.

Rarity nodded. "Yes, Discord, you have the power. Get us up there!"

Discord nodded. "Righto. One totally inconspicuous hot air balloon coming right up!"

He snapped his fingers and conjured up a bright red dirigible. He then quickly put on a sea captain's hat and conjured up a swagger stick.

"Welcome aboard!" he said dramatically, "Every pony onto the 'Discord Airship!'"

Rarity sighed and muttered something unintelligible.

Discord continued to grin. "Don't pout, my dear. I made sure there was an overabundance of sequins in your seat on the ship. No Breezies for them to blind today."

With that, everyone boarded the airship. It lifted into the air and floated out of the gorge. It began to drift over the road where they were shot up by RPGs. Coincidentally; they were immediately shot by an RPG once again. The airship exploded into flames and spiraled to the ground. It skipped and bounced, but did not fall into the gorge. It just lay in the middle of the road in a flaming heap.

The captain who had been looking over the gorge at the decimated S.W.A.T. prisoner-transport truck earlier stepped around large boulder with a RPG balanced on his shoulder. He grinned.

The airship suddenly disappeared with a flash. Discord got up and brushed himself off. He then quickly threw up a large energy shield as he helped up Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Pontius. He turned to the captain and said, "I say, my dear fellow, you must really look where you point those things. Some pony could have gotten hurt."

The captain dropped the RPG with a grin. "That was the intent."

Discord sighed dramatically. "It always is. So, here is how things are going down, I'm Discord, god of chaos. I am also one of the most powerful dimensional travelers that was, is, and probably will always be. You are an alliance pony with an RPG. I win. You will now step away from that RPGS and run home squealing for your mother like a good pony, and we will proceed with flying in the sky with diamonds like normal. ¿Entiendes?"

The captain shook his head. "Oh, so you're Discord. Let me point out why I think I would win."

Suddenly he shimmered and transformed into one of those hideous power-adapting, shape-shifting creatures. Discord blinked, he had not seen such creature before.

"Oooooh, creepy!" exclaimed Pinkie Pie.

Discord sighed and dropped the shield. He then put up his fists. "Get behind me, you three," he said slowly, "This isn't going to be fun."

* * *

_Dimension: My Little Pony_

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: The outskirts of Don Keyxote, elevation 2150 meters_

_Time: Three days after the arrival of the Brothers in Arms corps_

"Soooooooo… Are we there yet?" said Franklin.

"You say that one more time and I'm going to perform and Inversion and send you two spiraling to your deaths," replied Daniel.

"You know what's interesting?' said Franklin, ignoring Daniel's threat, "Whenever I get you annoyed, you threaten me by saying you'll send me spiraling to my death. The interesting part, though, is that you change the trick that you will use as the way to kill me each time. How many have we cycled through now? Barrel roll, Loop-the-loop, Torque loop, Stall turn, Inversion…"

"What interests me is how he always says 'you two,'" interjected Night Shade, "Last time I checked, Franklin were the one being an idiot and a nuisance, not me."

"Quiet you two," said Daniel sharply as eyes began to scour the ground below, "I sense something."

Franklin flipped out his sniper rifle and began to scope the ground below. "I don't know, we flew over Don Keyxote and didn't notice anything different other than the alliance strolling around. I don't see why this would be any different… Wait… There!"

Franklin pointed to their left and said, "I see explosions. However, the shockwave effect is slightly different… they're from dimensional travelers!"

Daniel preformed a sharp curve and headed directly for the area that Franklin was pointing at. In a moment they were circling a scene of chaos. Discord was battling one of those strange creatures from another multiverse one-on-one. Discord was powerful, but he was so out of practice with lethal combat that he was obviously on the losing side of the scuffle.

"Do we know any of these?" said Daniel as he continued to circle the battle high in the air.

Franklin shrugged. "I am not sure. However, the one weird one fighting that other-multiverse freak has a file in the traveler database. He's a dimensional traveler. His name is Discordius. Power tier 1."

Night Shade nodded as he squinted at the being hiding behind Discord. "The white pony is Rarity, I think," he said, "I think we have every right to go in there and beat the tobacco juice out of the assumed bad guy now, Daniel."

Daniel nodded slowly. "I agree… Okay. Here we go, this is the plan: Night Shade, get down there using your superspeed and immediately engage the hostile. I will keep Franklin airborne for a moment while he tries to disable the enemy. We're shooting for him to be wounded and disabled, but not dead. Got it?"

Night Shade nodded. He then leapt off Daniel's back. He rocketed towards the ground and smashed into the enemy's back at freefall velocity. The creature flew straight over Discord's head and tumbled into the gorge. Discord blinked and looked at Night Shade.

"Raining ponies… a page out of my own book I would have to say," said Discord with a crooked grin. Night Shade nodded.

"Greetings Discordius, I am Night Shade. A 79th generation dimensional traveler."

Discord nodded at Night Shade. "Charmed," he said, "I suppose you know the other dimensional travelers are here? You are in cahoots with them, I hope?"

Night Shade winked and then nodded his head at the sky. "We sure are. The dragon and human up there are my other dimensional traveler teammates, Daniel and Franklin. Do you think we'll be able to take this guy alive?"

Discord frowned. "Hmmm," he mused, "I THINK so…"

Suddenly the creature exploded from the gorge with a howl. He hovered above the ground and released a hail of fire bolts at Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Pontius. Quickly Discord drew up a massive block of stone from the ground that blocked the attack. Immediately afterward, he threw the block. The creature dodged it and flipped in the air. He then hurled a hail of ice-sharp icicles. They were blasted into fine dust by Night Shade who quickly followed up by rocketing towards the creature. Unfortunately the creature simply punched Night Shade in the face as he attempted to swerve out of the way. Night Shade spiraled away, but was caught by Discord. The creature raised a fist to call down a lightning strike but, instead, he just let out a shriek as a bullet from Franklin's sniper rifle clipped off his hand. Clutching the ruined hand with his other, the creature unleashed twin beams of heat energy from his eyes. Discord threw up an energy shield but grimaced as the energy beams ate away at the protection. Night Shade flew up around the shield and yelled, "Hey! Over here!"

The creature began to focus his heat vision on Night Shade, who began to perform tricks in the sky. Discord sidled around until he was facing the creature's back and hurled a blast of kinetic energy. It smashed into his back and set him flying into stone wall. As the creature did so, a sniper bullet took out his other hand. Gurgling, the creature slid to the ground. Discord strolled up to him and snapped his fingers. A flowery straitjacket appeared around him. The creature snarled and got up. He flicked his head. Then large boulders erupted from the ground around him and blasted towards Discord and Night Shade. Suddenly, though, a massive swathe of flames from Daniel vaporized the boulders as the dragon swooped in. Franklin flipped off Daniel's back and smashed the butt of his sniper rifle on the creatures head, knocking him cold.

Daniel landed and looked around, no pony other than the present group had witnessed the battle. Discord snorted. "Well, those things don't give up too easily. I suppose it's all over with now though."

He turned to Rairty, who was staring wide-eyed at Daniel. "Looks like we get to ride a dragon now though… romantic, don't you think?"

Daniel snorted out a blast of flame and heat. "Nope, you guys are going to have to conjure something else up, I'm not letting you guys touch my back."

Discord threw up his upper appendages in mock indignation. "My, my, what a touchy dragon. Do all dragons have naturally soured dispositions?"

"That's what I said too!" laughed Franklin, "Grumpy right?"

"I'll say!" continued Discord, "What a face. I'm sure you could curdle milk with it. Or make it spontaneously combust."

Daniel sighed. "Okay, I get it; I'm not overly fond of this situation. But nevertheless we have it pretty good now. I see you have captured the traitor Pontius, that is good."

Pontius gawked. "W-what?! Me?! I'm not a traitor!"

Night Shade stared suspiciously at him, "We have one mule, with the name of Martique, who says otherwise, mister."

Discord frowned. "Oh dear, it seems that we have reached an impasse then. Pontius insists he's not a traitor, and Martique insists he is. How should we solve this situation?"

Daniel cocked his head on one side as he thought for a moment. Finally he said, "We will bring them both before Celestia and Flaming Star with this issue. Celestia is wise, she will be able to parse out the truth. As for Flaming Star, he has the stare-of-the-souls ability, that should help us bring out the truth as well."

Pontius nodded, looking relieved. "I agree, we should do just that. Let's go now."

Daniel blinked, Pontius looked happy with their decision which implicated that he was telling the truth. But if he was… well, then Princess Celestia had been housing a traitor and a spy within the courts of Canterlot. He shook his head; he had no time to worry about that just yet.

"Discordius," he said, "Make an aireborn vehicle, preferably something fast. When you've finished that, we'll take to the sky as a group and head back Canterlot. Unfortunately the alliance was setting up anti-air weapons when we passed over Don Keyxote earlier, so we will have to take a longer, more indirect route. Nevertheless, as long as Rainbow Dash and Commander Hurricane can slow the alliance's army, we should be good for now with respects to the amount of time we have. Let's move it!"

Discord bowed elegantly to Daniel. "Your wish is my command, young sir," he drawled. He quickly conjured up a large airplane that looked like a cross between a four-seated Piper Cherokee airplane and a large metal Pegasus.

"You seat still has sequins on it, Rairty," said Discord pompously as he helped her into the plane.

"Sequins? You mean those ridiculous thingies designed to make a person go blind?" said Franklin as he got onto Daniel's back.

"They are NOT ridiculous!" said Rarity irately, "They are ALL the rage right now!"

"Sure they are, my dear Rarity," chuckled Discord, "Whatever you say. Now, please keep your head and hooves inside the vehicle at all times and try not to pass out when I try a couple of barrel rolls for fun. Thank you and have a nice day!"

There was a pause... Finally Franklin broke the silence. "Who gets to carry the weird monster thingy? he said.

* * *

**Note: OC dimensional traveler ideas are still open! Anyway, I had a serious question: do you guys want to see more of the original MLP characters, or more dimensional travelers? I have thought over the ideas you guys have given me for dimensional travelers and I have realized that there is sooooo much potential in them all. The travelers and their history are incredibly intriguing, and I wanted to know if you guys thought if it is worth it to create more "Recollections" chapters talking about them all. If so, how deep did you want me to go? Should I just start a new story specifically for them? I would appreciate some feedback on this, thanks!**


	41. Chapter 41 - Evacuation

_Dimension: My Little Pony_

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Cutie Mark Crusader's clubhouse_

_Time: Four days after the arrival of the Brothers in Arms corps_

"I don't know, I don't really think we should still be thinking of ways to get Flaming Star to propose to Twilight," said Scootaloo as the Cutie Mark Crusaders and Button Mash sat together in the clubhouse.

"Why do you think that?" said Button Mash, who was literally paying no attention whatsoever to the conversation thanks to the handheld video game he was playing.

"Well," replied Sweetie Bell, though she knew very well her friend wasn't paying attention, "What Scootaloo is thinking is that with all this weird stuff going on, we should be worrying about other stuff. We don't even know where Twilight is right now!"

"That's true, I really wish there was some way we could help out with all these problems," sighed Apple Bloom, "Maybe we could even get cutie marks in helpin' ponies in wartime!"

"Or we could just sit here and play video games!" exclaimed Button Mash, "We could get our cutie marks in that!"

"I don't think it works like that, Button Mash," sighed Scootaloo, "Or you would have gotten your cutie mark in that a loooooong time ago."

"Hm? Oh, yeah, sure Scootaloo," mumbled Button Mash, "Repeat what you just said in a sec please, I just need to finish level 41 in The Legend of Zebrda, Ocarina of Time."

Sweetie Bell facehoofed. "We've got to do something! Rarity is trapped in Bray, Twilight's missing, every other pony seems scared of their own shadow, and no one is telling us ANYTHING! We're the Cutie Mark Crusaders! We have got to do something to figure out what's going on!"

"HOW?" exclaimed Scootaloo, "We have NO idea how we're going to do that! None of the grown-ups will tell us anything!"

"I might, if you could help me up please."

The Cutie Mark Crusaders (with the exception of Button Mash) turned to see Miranda trying to scramble up into the club house.

"Miranda!" The CMC exclaimed. They helped her up and hugged her tightly.

"Yer okay!" said Apple Bloom, "We were really worried about you! Flaming Star said you had gone crazy or somethin'!"

"I did, little ones," said Miranda, "But I am better now."

"Who you talking to? Woah…" trailed off Button Mash as he looked up and saw the scar-covered pony.

"Hello sweetie! I'm Miranda! What's your name?" said Miranda happily.

Button's game beeped, alerting him that his character had just died, but he paid no attention. He stared with wide eyes at Miranda. "I-I-I'm Button Mash."

Miranda seized him in a hug. "Why hello Button Mash! It's nice to meet you! So, you four want to know a little about what is going on?"

Sweetie Bell bounced a little in excitement. "We do! Do you know anything about what's going on?"

Miranda nodded. "I think so. It's the strangest thing… While I was insane, I would go through these bouts where a bright light would fill the far corners of my mind. When that happened, I became aware of all sorts of things going on everywhere."

"Ooooohhh… is that like a skill? When do we get it?" said Button Mash, who seemed excited about something other than milkshakes and video games for once.

Miranda winked at him. "I don't think it's a skill. It's more like a discoverable perk."

Button Mash's eyes widened even more and Miranda smiled at him. "I was young once too, you know."

She then turned to the Cutie Mark Crusaders. "So, this is what I think is going on… I'm not sure how accurate it is, since I got my information from a man made of light, and since I can remember bits and pieces of what has gone on over the past few days.

"A… man of what?" stuttered Scootaloo.

Miranda grinned at her. "Don't worry; I think it's all trustworthy information. So, this is what is happening: There is a group that is trying to destroy the multiverse because they think it is comprised of only evil beings. To achieve this, they are using shape-shifting agents to infiltrate positions of power on this planet. They are using these agents to sway the nations so that they can take over Equestria and displace this country's ponies of control. According to the Light Man, Twilight has been captured and brought to a prison far, far away. Also, Rarity is safe, but they will be trapped in Bray for a little while longer. Sadly, though, pretty much all of what I just said is just part of their plan. We've all been playing into their hooves. The group is so close to achieving their goal, and so far everypony has been hoodwinked effectively."

"Wow…" breathed Apple Bloom, "This IS big. Do ya know how they are goin' to achieve success?"

Miranda nodded. "Of course! They are going to use… the… tree… of… Harmony… Oh no."

Miranda quickly got up and said, "We have to go. I had totally forgotten about that part! The invading army is going to go straight for the tree of Harmony!"

"What?!" gaped Sweetie Bell, "But… I thought no pony knew of where it was! I don't even really know where it is!"

"They know," said Miranda gravely, "They know, and they've convinced every other pony that they don't know. We have to move. We have to stop them!"

"Cutie Mark Crusaders! Let's roll out!" said Scootaloo dramatically as she grabbed Button Mash and dragged him away from his Game Colt device.

"What? Where? Who? Where are we going?" exclaimed Button Mash indignantly as he was bundled out of the clubhouse.

"We're going to find Sunset Shadow!" replied Miranda, "He'll know what to do!"

"Oh, er, right!" said Button Mash, "To Sunset's place! He'll know what to do! About… something…"

The five leapt down and galloped off to Ponyville.

* * *

_Dimension: My Little Pony_

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Fluttershy and Sunset's house_

_Time: Four days after the arrival of the Brothers in Arms corps_

"Hmmm… 27 45 23.2878 and -103 21 31.75… What do these numbers mean?" sighed Sunset as he sat, head in hoofs, at a mahogany table in his house.

"I don't know, Sunset, but maybe we should just slow down for a minute and enjoy the sunlight," said Fluttershy soothingly.

Sunset smiled as he levitated Starlight Amber in the air and bounced her gently up and down. "I suppose you're right, Fluttershy," he murmured, "Perhaps I'm taking this too fast. I guess I should get my mind back onto the important stuff. What were those again?"

Fluttershy flapped over with a piece of paper and placed it in front of him. She then kissed him on the cheek.

"Don't worry dear; I made a to-do sheet while you were worrying about those numbers."

Sunset smiled at her gratefully. "I would be lost without you Fluttershy. I mean literally lost."

Fluttershy blushed, "Oh thank you."

Sunset gently levitated Starlight Amber to Fluttershy as he looked at the list.

"Hmmmm," he mused, "It seems that I need to get ready for a meeting with Princess Celestia. Ah, that's right, this one is to be held in Fillydelphia. Where is that again? Darn it, I'm forgetting stuff already? I'm only 22 years old!"

Sighing with exasperation, he pulled out a map from a nearby bookshelf using magic and spread it on the table.

"Ah, here it is," he said to himself, "It's here, longitude… er, latitude… Here."

Suddenly he blinked as a figurative light bulb went off in his head. "27 45 23.2878 and -103 21 31.75… They're longitude and latitude! Fluttershy! I got it!"

Fluttershy pressed her ears against her skull. "Um… yay?"

Sunset smiled gently. "Sorry sweetie, I can still get riled up once and a while."

He then turned to look at the map. He located the place where the numbers indicated, it was nothing more than a hill range in Equus. Why had this mysterious "Light Man" given him numbers to a hill range? What was there? Did they even have time to spend by looking around there? Could they even manage to?

He sighed; it didn't seem really worth it. How could he even go there? He had no time. Once again another idea hit him: Flaming Star was in Irrum. Even now he was scouring the land with Spike for signs of Twilight. All Sunset needed to do was send the information pertaining to this mysterious location and send him to check it out!

Sunset nodded decisively. All he needed to do now was figure out how to send the message. Just recently he was alerted by Celestia via a messenger that magical letter-sending too had been disabled by the same mysterious technology that had rendered portal traveling and teleportation useless. He needed a courier. A Pegasus who was brave, stout, and fast. Ditzy Doo? Possibly…

Sunset turned at a sound. It was a rapid knocking at his door. It was loud and sounded like the knocker was in quite a hurry.

"Oh my," said Fluttershy quietly.

Sunset quickly got up and cantered to the door. He opened it and saw Miranda, Button Mash, and the Cutie Mark Crusaders at the door.

"Erm... Can I help you?" stuttered Sunset, who was a little at a loss for words.

"They're coming for the tree of Harmony, Sunset!" exclaimed Miranda.

"Wait, what? Who is coming for the tree of Harmony?" said Sunset, who still looked a little surprised.

"The alliance!" interjected Sweetie Bell.

"What? Impossible. From the reports I have received from Cloudsdale headquarters, the alliance troopers are heading for Las Pegasus. We have nothing to worry about. Whatever gave you the idea that they were going to attack the Everfree forest?"

"The man made of light, Sunset." replied Miranda, her face straight.

Sunset nodded slowly. "I… see… That reminds me, I realized the numbers you gave me were longitude and latitude to a dell in Equus. Do you know why the numbers point there?"

Now it was Miranda's turn to look a little confused. "What numbers?"

"The ones you gave me yesterday!"

"Oh… I'm sorry, I don't remember giving you numbers… My mind wasn't right then, and I only remember a little of what has happened over the past couple of days." Miranda bowed her head, and it looked like she was going to cry.

"And that leads us back to the original point!" exclaimed Sweetie Bell dramatically, trying to break the mood, "The alliance is coming for the tree of Harmony! We've been HOOFWINKED!"

"I think you mean hoodwinked, Sweetie Bell," said Apple Bloom, "Hoofwinked ain't a word."

"Well neither is 'aint't,'" exclaimed Sweetie Bell indignantly.

"They're right, Sunset," said Miranda seriously, "We have to do something. Everything so far has gone according to the plan of 'the group.' They've spilt us up, and rendered the Harmony bearers useless. Ponyville and the tree of Harmony are unprotected. We're at a disadvantage and have played right into their hands… or hoofs."

"Who is 'the group' you keep talking about?" asked Sunset. Already, however, his mind had begun to turn. It seemed that Miranda was right. Everything so far seemed to be playing out as if it was part of a play, a master game.

"I don't know, I'm sorry," sighed Miranda, "The Light Man didn't tell me that much. I do know that all of Equestria, and possibly the whole dimension and the whole multiverse are in trouble. We have to do something… and fast."

Sunset reached a conclusion: Miranda may have been considered legally insane a couple of days ago, but this Light Man seemed real enough to her, and the mysterious entity seemed to know enough about Sunset as well. Perhaps it was time to open his heart up and find it within himself to trust openly once more.

He nodded, "Okay, I understand. We have to take this to Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. But before that, I need to find Ditzy Doo, she has a very important task I need her to carry out. Fluttershy? Do you want to come with us?"

Fluttershy looked at her hoofs as she thought for a moment. She then blushed and peeked between her pink mane. After a pause, she said, "Yes. I want to go too. But what about Starlight?"

"She's coming too. We're all going. We might as well," said Sunset with determination, "Let's go."

The group trotted out of the house and went straight into Ponyville.

"Diamond Tiara," said Sunset Shadow to the pink filly, "Have you seen Ditzy Doo anywhere?"

"Oh, Sunset, I don't know, somewhere near town hall I suppose. I don't keep track of her. Why?" replied Diamond Tiara airily.

"It is not of importance right now. Thank you," said Sunset briskly.

The group continued off to town hall. Ditzy Doo was eating a muffin just outside a pastry shop next to the hall. Sunset glanced back at the others and said, "Wait here, I'll just be a moment."

Quickly he cantered up to Ditzy Doo and handed her a letter.

"Ditzy Doo," he said very seriously, "I need you to do something for me."

"Anything Sunset!" exclaimed Ditzy Doo, "Whatcha need?"

"I need you to carry a letter behind enemy lines for me."

Ditzy Doo paused, her hoof with the muffin hovering half-way to her mouth. "Eh? What?"

"I need you to bring a letter to Flaming Star in Irrum."

Ditzy Doo looked a little confused. Then she said, "Oh… I see. Um… Do I have to?"

Sunset nodded his head, "It is imperative that he receives this letter, and you are the only pony I can think of right now who is brave, stout, and fast enough for the job."

Ditzy Doo blinked. After a moment, her nodded decisively. "I am on it Sunset!" she exclaimed, "Do you know where he is?"

Sunset frowned. "No, I don't. You are going to have to search around, but you must do it with the utmost inconspicuousness and care. Do you understand?"

Ditzy Doo saluted. "I do Sunset! As soon as I finish my muffin, I'm off!"

She then noticed that when she had saluted, her hoof had knocked the muffin into the air. The thing landed in a puddle. She looked at it and there was a moment of silence. She then looked back at Sunset.

"Oh, er," she mumbled, "I guess I'll do it right now!"

She picked up the letter, put it in her mail pouch, spread her wings, and began to flap off in the direction of the Frozen north. Sunset bit his lip as he watched her fly away.

"I really hope all goes well," he said. He then trotted back to the rest of the group and said, "That's over and done with now. Now we need to go to Mayor Mare's office and explain the situation. We need to get as many ponies evacuated as possible. If all goes well, you guys can begin evacuations while I approach the Sun and Moon sisters in Fillydelphia and explain what is going on. Perhaps we can allocate more troops to protect the tree of Harmony."

Sweetie Bell smiled. "You can count on us! Let's go!"

They quickly totted into town hall and went into Mayor Mare's office.

"Hello Sunset!" she said cheerfully, "What brings you here?"

"This pony's name is Miranda," said Sunset indicating the scar-covered pony, "She has something to say to you."

Miranda cantered to the front of the group and said, "I believe that Ponyville is in danger of being attacked by the invading army."

Mayor Mare blinked. She quickly ruffled through some papers and pulled one out.

"This is the report sent to the Princesses from Cloudsdale headquarters," she explained as she scanned it, "From what Rainbow Dash and Commander Hurricane said, it seems that Ponyville is only SUPPOSED to seem to be in danger. They said that the army is really just using it as a distraction so that they can lay siege to Las Pegasus unopposed."

"It's a lie," said Miranda flatly, "I do not think all is well within the command hierarchy of Equestria's army."

"Are you saying Commander Hurricane is a liar?" said Mayor Mare skeptically, eying Miranda.

Miranda shook her head. "I am not saying nor implying that, Mayor Mare," she said curtly, her bright eyes darkened with seriousness, "I believe that there are impostors within our ranks that have taken the guise of true officers. We are being fooled."

"I believe she speaks the truth, Mayor Mare," said Sunset.

Mayor Mare looked a little flustered. "Why has no one told me of this?" she mumbled as she rapidly shifter through some more papers.

"It's because no one else has seen it coming. Miranda has had some… inside help with this situation, so she wasn't fooled like the rest of us. We need to trust her," replied Sunset earnestly.

Mayor Mare bit her lip as she looked at the report from Cloudsdale back to Miranda and her friends and then back to the report again. There was a pause. Finally she sighed. "I trust you Sunset," she said, "We will begin evacuations immediately. We will be sending everypony off via train to Dodge Junction or Appleloosa. Going to those places should keep us safe while the army deals with the enemy."

Miranda looked very worried. "Mayor," she said slowly, "We can't ask for help from the Equestria army."

"Why not?" squeaked Mayor Mare, her eyes growing wide.

"We cannot let ANYPONY know what we know," replied Miranda seriously, "There are a lot of impostors within our ranks, and we cannot risk alerting them of our plans. We cannot let them know that we are aware of what is transpiring."

Mayor Mare shook her head. "I cannot let you do this then," she said, "Who will protect Ponyville?"

"I will," said Miranda, "I am a dimensional traveler, power tier 2. I believe can protect this place successfully."

Mayor Mare looked at Miranda and sighed. "This is a matter of trust then really… I'll choose to trust you. Please protect our town."

"With my life," said Miranda solemnly, "We need to begin evacuations immediately."

"It will be done quietly," said Mayor Mare.

Miranda bowed her head. "Thank you Mayor Mare," she said, "For trusting me."

Mayor Mare nodded briskly. "Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, or Flaming Star would have done the same."

Miranda turned to Sunset, "This is under control. You should go off to meet with the Princesses to discuss the matters that you have set out. Remember, this is a covert operation, it is best that no pony outside this town really understands what is going on. Oh, one more thing, Sunset: can you get word of what is going on here to the Brothers in Arms corps somehow?"

Sunset sighed. "I have no idea," he replied, "Why?"

"I don't think I can protect the town on my own," she answered, "And I have a contingency plan that requires them. Oh, and don't forget to tell Franklin that I love him. He kept a small part of me sane during the dark times over the past few days."

"I'll see what I can do," said Sunset as he turned around and trotted out of town hall.

He trotted out to town square and looked around until he found the Pegasus he was looking for. It was a dark grey Pegasus with yellow hair: Lightning Dasher.

"Lightning!" called Sunset as he trotted over to the grey Pegasus, "Hey, Lightning!"

Lightning Dasher turned to look at Sunset. "Heeeyyyy… Sunset! What's up?"

"I have a very important task for you," replied Sunset, who levitated a letter that he had quickly written for Miranda, "I need you to take this to the Frozen north."

"Cool," said Lightning, "Who am I looking for?"

"A large red dragon. His name is Daniel," said Sunset.

"A… uh… dragon?" stuttered Lightning with hesitation in his voice.

"Yes, a dragon. Don't worry, he is a dimensional traveler like me, he won't hurt you. He should be somewhere between the southern border of Bray and the Frozen north, so I want you to look for him in the skies. Can you do that?"

Lightning Dasher nodded, took the letter in his mouth, and took to the sky. As he flapped off, Mayor Mare trotted up behind Sunset and said, "Who is that you're sending off? I thought we were not going to tell any pony of the plans!"

"Oh, that's Lightning Dasher, he's taking a letter to the dragon, the human, and that black pony who went off to save Rarity. They're dimensional travelers like me, so they should be able to help against the invading army when they come."

"Ah," said Mayor Mare, "Okay then. Well, I should be going now. I will be making the evacuation announcement in one hour."

Sunset nodded and trotted off to where Miranda, Fluttershy, and Starlight Amber sat under a tree.

"Awwww… She's so beautiful!" exclaimed Miranda as she played with Starlight Amber, "You two have a wonderful little foal here. You are sooooo blessed."

"I know," said Fluttershy happily, "Thank you."

"Hello you two!" said Sunset cheerfully, "All is in order. The letter is sent off, and the evacuation will begin in exactly one hour. Where are the Cutie Mark Crusaders?"

"Oh, they left with their little friend Button Mash to play. They headed north. Isn't Button Mash soooo cute?" said Miranda, turning her sparkling eyes towards Sunset.

"Sure, Miranda, anything you say!" Sunset said as he settled down next to Fluttershy, "I suppose we can just enjoy the sunlight here while we wait for things to take place."

* * *

_Dimension: My Little Pony_

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Mayor Mare's office_

_Time: Four days after the arrival of the Brothers in Arms corps_

Mayor Mare closed the door to her office.

"Phasetroopers! Attend me!" she snarled.

Two of those chalk-white creatures from the other multiverse uncloaked from their position beside the door.

"You need us for something, Elite?" asked one of the Phasetroopers.

The Mayor Mare imposter nodded, and shifted into her original form.

"Yes," she said, "Joseph Torrus has sent off a dark grey Pegasus with yellow hair to fetch the Brothers in Arms corps. It is good that we are evacuating Ponyville, thus reducing chances of uprisings and riots, but I do not think our technology could cope with dimensional traveler Miranda, her brother, and his two friends. We need to keep it down to her. Kill the Pegasus courier with a rocket propelled singularity grenade. That should ensure he dies, the letter is stopped, and no one ever notices. Hurry! Even as we speak he is crossing the northern part of Ponyville!"

The two Phasetroopers nodded and cloaked again and left the building.

* * *

**Note: Hey guys, I just wanted to let you all know that I am going to have to slow down now. I don't think I can keep up with a chapter a day anymore, and I need some time to restock my doc manager. The pause should only be about two days long. Thanks! And don't forget the R&R stuff!**


	42. Chapter 42 - Changing Tides

_Dimension: My Little Pony_

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Just north of Ponyville_

_Time: 4 days after the arrival of the Brothers in Arms corps_

"Why are we here again?" sighed Sweetie Bell, "I literally have no idea what we're doing!"

"We're scouting of course!" exclaimed Scootaloo, "We need to see how far the bad guys are from our home!"

"Er, maybe we should go back," said Apple Bloom, "We don't wanna miss the evacuation."

"Yeah, besides, it's kinda creepy here… heh…" added Button Mash.

"What do you mean creepy?" said Scootaloo indignantly, "It was your idea to scout in the first place, Button Mash!"

"I meant it in a metaphorical sense!" answered Button Mash defensively, "I mean… really? I didn't think we would go this far! Um… what does metaphorical mean anyway?"

Apple Bloom sighed, "I suppose since we haven't gone that far, we could just turn around."

"Turn around? Huh? What are we even doing?" yelled Sweetie Bell. Everypony just continued their argument.

"No, we're too far! Let's keep going!" said Scootaloo.

"Define 'far,'" snorted Button Mash, "I want to get home to my video game!"

"Which one?" asked Apple Bloom.

"QUIET!" yelled Sweetie Bell, louder than before. Everyone stopped arguing and looked at her.

"Listen! I hear something," she whispered.

Everypony stopped talking and listened. It was a flapping noise. It got a little louder as a Pegasus passed overhead.

"Look!" said Scootaloo, "It's Lightning Dasher! He's totally cool!"

Suddenly a flaming object shrieked overhead and smashed into Lightning Dasher. The thing exploded with a weird pop. Rippling ribbons of dark blue and black energy encased the grey Pegasus faster than the eye could move. Then they blinked out of existence in less than a second. Both the energy ribbons and the Pegasus were gone. All that was left of the pony was the letter, which slowly floated to the ground in front of the group.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders and Button Mash just stared, their pupils a tenth of their regular size. Abruptly both Sweetie Bell and Button Mash whimpered and fainted.

"Did… did he just… die?!" said Scootaloo slowly.

"I… I… dunno…" whimpered Apple Bloom, "I ain't seen nothin' like that before! He just disappeared!"

"He was definitely shot," said Scootaloo, trying desperately to keep from freaking out. She slowly picked up the letter and opened it.

"It's a message to Night Shade and those other two guys!" she exclaimed, "Lightning Dasher was carrying a letter to them!"

"And he was stopped by somepony bad," said Apple Bloom gravely, "This ain't good. We gotta take this to them!"

"But where are they? We don't know!" said Scootaloo.

"My sis said somethin' about them goin' to Bray to rescue Rarity, I think," said Apple Bloom.

"Bray?! That's wwwaaayyyyy up north!"

"We have no choice Scootaloo! We gotta take this to them! Otherwise Miranda will be all alone protecting Ponyville!"

Scootaloo bit her lip. Then her eyes hardened. "You're right," she said with determination, "We need to take this to them. We have my scooter and my wagon; I can take us to the north!"

Button Mash then groaned and got up. "Wha… what happened?" he mumbled, "I blacked out for a moment."

"We're going to take this letter to the Frozen north!" exclaimed Scootaloo dramatically as she held up the letter.

"What?!" gaped Button Mash, "Do we get a montage? Because if we don't, there is noooooo way we can get there in, like… well, in like forever!"

"We gotta though!" said Apple Bloom, "No other pony has the time!"

Button Mash sighed as he helped Sweetie Bell up, who had just awakened as well. "Well… I guess…"

"Right then!" said Scootaloo, "Let's get GOING!"

"To the scooter and wagon!" said Apple Bloom.

"This is crazy," muttered Button Mash as he got into the wagon with Sweetie Bell and Apple Bloom. They put on their goggles and held on tight as Scootaloo revved up her little wings. Soon they were skidding off at a good pace towards the Unicorn Range.

* * *

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Somewhere in the land of Irrum_

_Time: 4 days after the arrival of the Brothers in Arms corps_

"This is stupid," grumbled Spike as he threw himself onto a bed in room in a small inn, "I mean, you're a dimensional traveler! You can create money out of thin air! Why aren't we living in 5-star luxury suites?!"

"Because," replied Flaming Star patiently, "We cannot risk being identified as upper class ponies. We do that, and the press will become involved, et cetera, and we'll be discovered. We want to stay inconspicuous."

"What's the use?" sighed Spike as he flopped his head back onto a pillow, "We've crisscrossed Irrum now for two days! We haven't found anything!"

"We haven't covered all of Irrum yet, though," said Flaming Star, "We should be done searching this area for bases or high-security prisons soon, however. If Twilight isn't in any of those, we'll move on to searching Equus."

"This is really boring, you know that right?" Spike continued to grumble.

Flaming Star rolled his eyes and sighed. "Nice to know, faithful companion. I will make sure to point out to Twilight when I rescue her that her extremely competent assistant voted to leave her in the hoofs of our nation's enemy. I wonder if you could get a pink slip…"

"Yeah, yeah, you made your point," snorted Spike.

Flaming Star climbed onto his bed and flopped down as well. "We need to get some rest, Spike," he said, "There is a large army base just east to us, and we are going to be infiltrating it at midnight."

"Oh, man! ANOTHER? Isn't this our third?"

"Fourth, actually, and so far there has been no luck in finding Twilight. Perhaps we have a bad approach."

"Well, I guess we better get that sleep you were talking about, the sun is gone."

The two then closed their eyes and drifted off to sleep. Both of their dreams were blank and peaceful, and the hours ticked peacefully by… until…

Flaming Star's eyes snapped open. He glanced at the clock on the bed-side table. It read 11:59. He had set the clock for 12:45, what had caused him to wake up? Then he remembered: a faint explosion. Suddenly another faint explosion resounded through the air; then another, and then another. Flaming Star quickly got up and cantered to the room's east-facing window. He peeked through it. At first he couldn't see anything through the ink-black night, but then an explosion light up the sky. It was anti-air fire. Flaming Star blinked. Anti-air? What were they shooting at?

In an instant, the air abruptly lit up as all the anti-air weaponry on the base turned their cannons to the sky. Soon the sound of exploding shells was deafening, and it startled Spike into wakefulness.

"Wha? What's going on?!" he yelled at Flaming Star over the din.

"I don't know!" called Flaming Star back, "It seems that the Irrum army base is trying really hard, with no success, to shoot somepony down!"

Massive spotlights then turned on in the base and began to scour the sky with huge beams of harsh light. Once and a while a beam would pass over a little flying figure as it ducked and dodged the explosions. Suddenly a spotlight managed to linger on the figure for more than a fraction of a second before it dove to avoid flak shot. Flaming Star then recognized who was flying, and his jaw pretty much dropped to the floor.

"What's going on?" exclaimed Spike, still trying hard to be heard over the noise of flak fire, "Who is that?"

"It's Ditzy Doo!" yelled Flaming Star. He then threw open the window and jumped out.

Spike, who hadn't quite heard anything that Flaming Star had said, just stood there, blinking at the open window. "Was it something I said?" he muttered to himself.

Flaming Star gritted his teeth as his brain desperately grappled for solutions for how to help his friend out of her predicament. If he tried anything big, that would risk exposing who he was, and that would not end well.

He was still trying figure out a way when the latest explosion knocked Ditzy Doo straight from the air. She went spiraling towards the ground in a cloud of black smoke. Flaming Star bit his lip.

"To hell with being covert," he sighed.

He rushed the army base's massive walls and leapt straight over them in a mighty bound. The second he landed he unleashed a massive tidal wave of water. The thing swept through the base, upturning tanks and small buildings. The flak fire stopped as their gunners were blasted away by the oncoming water. As confusion burst from the base, Flaming Star glanced up at Ditzy Doo, calculated her crashing trajectory, and ran to the spot. Immediately guards tried to apprehend him, but choice blasts of kinetic energy knocked them unconscious. Ditzy Doo came shrieking to the ground, but she was caught gently by Flaming Star. "You're safe now," he said as he placed her onto his back.

Tanks akin to M24 Chaffees rushed out to engage him, but Flaming Star simply slammed a hoof against the ground, causing seismic energy to blast the tanks into the air.

"Look out behind you!" yelled Ditzy Doo as she looked behind him. One of the tanks was rushing him, attempting to run him down. Flaming Star whirled, and as he did so, he conjured up a long whip of plasma. The searing hot matter slashed through the tank, slicing it in two. The halves' momentum pushed them forward still, but they split apart just as they were about to hit Flaming Star and slid on by, smashing harmlessly against one of the other upturned tanks.

Soon Infantry Fighting Vehicles were whizzing around the corner to engage him, but just as they rounded the buildings, Flaming Star spread his wings and blasted off into the night, leaving nothing but a dozen decimated tanks and a few unconscious guards.

"Ditzy Doo! What in the name of Earth Prime are you doing here?!" exclaimed Flaming Shadow as he flew away.

"Oh, I had a letter for you! Sunset said it was most urgent that you get it! I couldn't let a couple of explosions stop me!" replied Ditzy Doo happily.

Flaming Star rolled his eyes, "Apparently. I don't think we're being followed, so I suppose it would be best if we return to Spike at the inn. How is your wing?"

Ditzy Doo looked at the wing that had been scorched by flak fire. "It's fine," she replied, "It was really just the shockwave that caused me to lose my sense of direction."

In a few moments they were back to the inn, climbing through the window.

"By Celestia! Ditzy Doo! What are you doing here?!" exclaimed Spike as Flaming Star climbed through the window.

"I'm here to give Flaming Star this letter!" exclaimed Ditzy Doo cheerfully. She pulled the letter out of her pouch with her mouth and gave it to Flaming Star. He opened it up using magic and read it.

He looked at it for a long time.

"Um… Is everything okay?" asked Spike, feeling nervous.

"I think so…" said Flaming Star slowly, "It seems that Miranda got some sort of premonition or something and gave Sunset coordinates to… something. It's in the land of Equus; he wants us to check it out."

"Brilliant!" exclaimed Spike, happy to do something for once, "Let's go right now!"

Flaming Star looked outside the window. He could see the spotlights still sweeping the sky, and he could hear shouts as soldiers began to mobilize within the base. He nodded decisively.

"You're right," he said, "It is probably best if we get a move-on. We're not too far from the Equus border really, and I can cloak us from view as we pass the border guards. We should be able to get to this location, wherever it is, without much opposition. Spike, do you have a map?"

Spike pulled a map out of a suitcase with a flourish. He handed to Flaming Star and said, "One map. Check!"

"Well done, I knew it was a good idea to bring you along, my mostly proficient assistant," said Flaming Star with a wink. He then levitated the map over to a small table and opened it. He quickly traced a hoof over to where the coordinates had been pointing to. He blinked.

"That's a hill," said Spike, as if it was in no way obvious.

"A green hill," added Ditzy Doo, who sounded quite proud of her observation.

"Okay. Great. Let's go check out a… um… hill?" said Flaming Star slowly.

"Yep! Let's go!" exclaimed Spike dramatically. There was a moment of silence, and in that silence, they could hear yelling down the hall, and the sounds of doors being kicked down: soldiers had begun to search the building.

"Oh, that's the signal for us to get the hell out," said Flaming Star. Using magic, he quickly picked up Spike and the suitcase and placed him on his back. He then glanced at Ditzy Doo.

"Can you walk?" he asked.

She nodded and got off his back to make room for Spike. The group then quickly jumped out the window as the sounds of doors being blasted down and screaming grew louder and louder.

"So, what's the plan?" said Spike as they galloped off into the night.

"We go to this hill and camp on it," said Flaming Star, "If nothing happens within thirty seconds, I demolish it using explosive energy. If nothing happens again within thirty seconds, we send an angry letter to Sunset and then continue our search for Twilight."

"Okie dokie!" exclaimed Ditzy Doo.

"Are we just going to keep running on hoof?" said Spike, "I understand that you advocate strongly for running workouts and all, but don't you think it would be better if we got a vehicle or something?"

"My idea exactly," said Flaming Star. Suddenly he swerved and dove into a bush, taking Ditzy Doo, Spike, and the luggage with him. A tank appeared around the bend and began to drive by them. As it did so, Flaming Star hurled a small bolt of explosive energy. It blasted in front of the armored vehicle with the magnitude of a large cherry bomb. The tank stopped and the driver and gunner got out to inspect the blast. As they did so, two hard bolts of shadow energy knocked them head-over-hoofs. Quickly the group in the bushes rushed out and grabbed the tank. Pulling a hard U-turn, they rumbled off in the direction of the Equus border.

"Wow… that was surprisingly easy," said Ditzy Doo as she settled down in the gunner's seat, "What does this control do?"

"That fires off a 105 mm shell at supersonic speeds, Ditzy Doo," said Flaming Star briskly, "Please don't touch it."

The tank rumbled off towards the direction of the Equus border without so much as a hitch for the rest of the way, though, from the sound of the radio chatter the group was listening in on, the area they had just left was now crawling with soldiers in an attempt to find whoever was responsible for trashing twelve tanks with ease.

In a couple of hours, the group and their tank were just around the corner from the border crossing.

"It is armed, no doubt," said Spike as he peeked his head through the commander's hatch.

"Probably," confirmed Flaming Star, "But I should be able to cloak us from view. Just give me a moment."

Flaming Star quickly scrambled out of the tank and began to trot around it, looking it up and down. After a moment of contemplation, Flaming Star began to project walls of photon-rephasing energy, and retro-reflecting material around the armored vehicle. In a couple of minutes the whole thing was invisible to the naked eye. Nodding with satisfaction, Flaming Star got into the tank once more.

They rounded the corner and passed right between two guard posts.

"Hey, did you just hear something?" said one of the guards as the tank passed unseen right between them.

"Yeah, it was my voice telling you to shut up," replied the other.

"Moron."

The tank continued passed a couple more guard posts, but amazingly none of the others really took any notice. Soon they were in Equus territory.

"Alright Spike," said Flaming Star, "You get to be navigator. Lead us to this fabled green hill of destiny."

"Righto, Flaming Star!" exclaimed Spike with enthusiasm, "take the first right… no left… no, your other left! I mean right! Oh, I'm holding it upside-down… Take the first left!"

"This is going to be one long ride," muttered Flaming Star, as the tank skidded, barely managing to take the left without smashing through several tall pine trees.

A couple of hours and a couple of collisions later, the tank began to approach the area that they were told to go.

"Keep driving for 200 Smoots and then look to your left. You have reached your destination," said Spike.

"A Smoot?" snorted Flaming Star irately, "I thought we were still working in Beard-Seconds!"

Spike rolled his eyes. "Fine, Mr. Picky," he said, "Keep driving for approximately 68 billion Beard-Seconds and then look to your left. You have reached your destination."

"Much better," chuckled Flaming Star, "I can understand Beard-Seconds SOOOO much better."

"Waaiiiitttt… Are you being sarcastic?" asked Spike suspiciously.

"Well, what do you think?" said Flaming Star with a grin.

"Um, guys? We're about to pass up our destination!" exclaimed Ditzy Doo.

Flaming Star turned back to the wheel and pulled a hard left turn. He stopped at the base of the target hill. The group clambered out and looked the hill up and down. It was green; it was small; it was extraordinarily unimpressive.

"This is the most standard hill I've seen in my life," said Spike.

"And it's in the middle of nowhere," added Ditzy Doo.

"It's so standard and unimportant-looking that I actually think it has a chance of actually containing something useful to us," said Flaming Star, eyeing the hill with an interested air, "Okay Spike, take a quick jog up there and let us know what you see. If it tries to kill you and you die, drop us a note."

"And this is what happens when ponies pull all-nighters," grumbled Spike as he climbed the hill.

There was a pause. Unexpectedly a cry from Spike rang out just as he disappeared from view over the crest of the hill. Ditzy Doo and Flaming Star glanced at each other. They then dashed off in unison towards the crest of the hill. They came across Spike who was sitting on the ground, rubbing his head.

"What happened?" asked Ditzy Doo breathlessly.

"I… ran into something…" replied Spike, bemusement plastered across his face.

"You ran into something?" said Flaming Star.

Spike rolled his eyes. "I just said that, didn't I? I have no idea what just happened, but it hurt."

Flaming Star winked at him, "Sure it did, kiddo."

He then turned to look at the hill before him. Slowly he inched forward, probing with his right hoof every now and then. Suddenly his hoof came in contact with something. A noise, similar to a pebble being dropped into a calm lake sounded long and low, and rippling effect spread out from where Flaming Star's hoof had just hit. It was an invisibility shield.

"Oh man," breathed Flaming Star. Rearing back his hoof, he sent out a massive EMP surge. It crackled through the energy shield and dissipated. After a second of silence, a loud crackling noise burst from the spot where Flaming Star had just released the EMP and the invisibility cloak shut down, revealing a strange metal box. It had several arrays of antenna, and it was about the height and width of Princess Celestia.

Immediately Flaming Star began to cross-reference the contraption with the dimensional traveler database. He hit a match: the box he was looking at was a completed version of the technology designed to block all portal-traveling and teleportation within a dimension.

* * *

**Note: So, I just realized that both Discord and Jetfire (yes, Jetfire from the Revenge of The Fallen) are actual characters from canon material that work nicely as dimensional travelers. This leads me to this question: Does anyone have suggestions for other actual characters from any other story or movie out there that would have potential as dimensional travelers? What do you guys think?**


	43. Chapter 43 - Horrors

**Note: Okay, I have a lineup for the dimensional travelers I will be using now. Thanks for all the feedback! So, the real Franklin Montgomery was wondering how I get these things typed to fast... here is my answer: I type an average of 100 word per minute, and I spend an hour every other day typing this story. That's 6000 words a day. I then spilt those words into 3000 word chapters. Thus, every other day I create two chapters, enough for me to easily keep up with everyday posting... most of the time. As for brainstorming each chapter out, I pretty much had this entire story planned front to back over the course of last summer. Anyway, keep up the R&R stuff please!**

* * *

_Dimension: Unknown_

_Planet: Unknown_

_Specific Location: Unknown_

_Time: Unknown_

Twilight sat in the corner of her prison as she comprehended her fate. How long was she going to be here? Were they ever going to let her go? What were her friends doing right now? Was Flaming Star thinking of her at all?

She sighed as confused thoughts continued to bounce in her head. The Paradox… what he had said had made sense. The things he had shown her was terrible and violent and vicious. Could good survive in a dimension of evil? And then she thought of Ponyville, a light in a sea of darkness. Even then that light was tarnished by the thought of corrupt alternate timelines. Could Pinkie ever have the potential to kill her friends? She just didn't know. The Paradox seemed so kind, she almost forgave him for kidnapping her…

Then the automatic door to her prison slid open and a being walked in. He looked like the Paradox, but he was slightly different. The being before her was a little taller and broader. Although he was still dressed in white-colored full body armor, his helmet's visor resembled a red-glowing crow with outspread wings. Bands of black and blood-red ran in ribbons down from his shoulder plates to the backs of his hands.

Twilight blinked in confusion. Was this being from the Paradox's brotherhood? She got up to approach him, but, suddenly, the being viciously backhanded her. She flew across the room and smashed into a wall.

"Your friends just couldn't play nice, couldn't they?" the being snarled as he reached her in a single stride. Heaving her bodily, he slammer her into the white table and strapped her down again.

"What- what's going on?!" squeaked Twilight, completely confused, "The Paradox said I wouldn't be hurt!"

"He said that if all went well, you wouldn't be hurt!" yelled the being, "But guess what? All has NOT gone well! Elite Phasetrooper number seven went missing while hunting down your friend Rarity. Our intelligence alerted us that the Brothers in Arms corps has captured him. Something we did NOT expect. They made it out of Bray successfully, so guess who is going to pay for their little bout of resistance? YOU. We were originally going to let you escape with a little bit of misinformation to make it easier for our plan to proceed, but this new unwanted development has stripped you of your chance for freedom."

Turning to a wall, the being motioned to it. The wall slid out revealing all sorts of objects related to torture. Grabbing a pair of wires he turned to her.

"Did you know that if I used unhampered electrical currents at 50,000 volts, I can fry the skin off your bones without killing you?" said the being with a laugh, "Let's run a little experiment to prove the validity of that piece of trivia."

Twilight screamed as the being pressed the live wires to her chest, sending electricity coursing through her body. The voltage was too great to cause fibrillation, but it most certainly high enough to cause incredible amounts of pain. Twilight continued to scream as she racked about in her restraints. She jerked and shook and twisted as the searing pain lanced through her body. The being did it again, and again, and again, and again, and again.

Twilight was barely conscious when he finally stopped. Smoke slowly rose from two bleeding dark spots on Twilight's chest where the wire pads had been.

"That was… fun," said the being, "Personally, I hope your friends provide more opposition in the future, I really enjoyed this. Oh, my name is Pictor the executioner. I hope you remember this name, because I will be back. The more your friends resist, the more pain you will endure. You can thank the Paradox for this excellent plan."

Twilight simply gave out a racking sobbed and slipped into unconsciousness.

"All for the plan, eh?" chuckled Pictor as he exited the room. As he left he opened a holographic projection in front of his masked helmet. "Paradox," he said, "I preformed the first bout. Let the world know of how their precious princess is going to die a slow death if they keep interrupting."

* * *

_Dimension: My Little Pony_

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: The skies above Las Pegasus_

_Time: 4 days after the arrival of the Brothers in Arms crops_

"Wow! This setup is AWESOME!" exclaimed Rainbow Dash as she watched the tanks and Equestria soldiers taking up positions just outside Las Pegasus from a large dirigible in the sky.

"It's acceptable. We need to hurry up the left flank though, the attacks could be coming any minute. The reports said that they've just reached the Ponyville and Las Pegasus crossroads," said Commander Hurricane.

"Well… what do we do now?" said Rainbow Dash as she continued to look at the armies below.

"We wait. We just wait," replied Hurricane.

"Ummmm… Sorry if I missed some lecture somewhere, but when is waiting conducent to winning a war?"

"You obviously did miss a lecture somewhere. Waiting is the most important part of this plan."

"Sure. This is boring."

"Keep your mane on, kid. This pretty explosions will start soon."

They continued to look over at the armies waiting patiently for a good thirty minutes.

"Pinkie Pie would have spontaneously combusted by now," grumbled Rainbow Dash.

Commander Hurricane just chuckled calmly. "They'll come. However, I do have something to attend to at the forward battalions. I will be back in a moment."

With that, Commander Hurricane spread her wings and blasted off. Rainbow Dash groaned and rolled her eyes. Now she was bored AND she had no one to complain to either. She sat down grumpily and began to toy with the dirigible controls. A couple of minutes later a Pegasus scout flapped in. He was disheveled and his eyes were wide.

"Commander Rainbow Dash!" he exclaimed, breathing heavily, "The alliance armies! They're attacking Ponyville-"

The dirigible exploded. Some pony had placed an explosive on the balloon and detonated it two minutes after Commander Hurricane had left. The blast set the whole thing ablaze and sent it spiraling to the ground. The shockwave had killed the guard, but by some miracle it only sent Rainbow Dash flying backwards. Fortunately her training with the Wonderbolts Academy helped her immediately right herself. She quickly prepared herself for the invading army of the alliance to appear any second, but nothing happened. This had been no alliance anti-air attack, some pony had placed that explosive on the dirigible BEFORE anything had happened. There was a saboteur within their ranks. Despite the fact that the shockwave had spun her around, realizations hit her faster than they would have normally: the alliance army had never intended to attack Las Pegasus, they simply had used it as a front of a front so that they could attack Ponyville… where the tree of Harmony was. An icy fear gripped her heart, and she blasted off in the direction of her hometown, a massive rainboom spreading out behind her as she shrieked off to protect her friends.

* * *

_Dimension: My Little Pony_

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Ponyville_

_Time: 4 days after the arrival of the Brothers in Arms crops_

"Keep evacuating ponies! Stay calm!" called Sunset. He turned to Miranda with worry in his eyes. "Where are the Cutie Mark Crusaders?" he asked, "Applejack said she won't leave until she finds Apple Bloom!"

Miranda bit her lip. "She will have to stay behind with me then," she replied, "I don't think there is any other way. If I know the Cutie Mark Crusaders, they right now are probably doing something that actually might prove a major help as this war draws to a close. Anyways, did you tell the Princesses that you are going to have to decline their meeting in Fillydelphia?"

Sunset nodded and said, "I did. I also sent a lone letter to Luna in a code. If Luna is the real Luna, she will get the message and come with Celestia to help as soon as possible."

Miranda winked. "Okie dokie! I just have to try not to die! Have fun on the train! Don't eat too many sugar cubes while you're on the trip!"

Sunset blinked. He then shook his head and turned to Fluttershy. "I… I'm going to stay," his voice broke, "I will not let another dimensional traveler willingly give up their life without me doing the same."

Fluttershy's eyes hardened. "Then we're not leaving either," she said, "If you and Applejack are staying, then I'm staying too. That's that."

Sunset looked at her and smiled a little. "You, Fluttershy, are the greatest pony that has ever graced this dimension with her presence," he said.

Fluttershy blushed and looked down at her hoofs.

Miranda grinned dreamily. "Young love," she sighed, "This makes me want to get married. I just hope Franklin doesn't kill my groom though…"

Sunset looked at Miranda and rolled his eyes. "You're only twenty Miranda, and I would be more worried about you accidentally causing your future husband's to explode from being too nice," he said, "Anyway I'm sure the right one for you will come along one day."

Mayor Mare trotted up and nodded her head at them, "Are you getting on the train, Sunset?"

Sunset shook his head, "Oh, no, I'm staying here. I know I have made it obvious I am a pacifist, but I will not let Miranda stand alone against an army."

Mayor Mare's face fell. "But… er, won't that go against your beliefs?" she suttered.

Sunset blinked. "Um… no," he replied, "Not really. I never actually said that I was a true pacifist, I just implicated that that was what I was and wanted to be."

"Oh, um, of course! A-are you sure though?" said Mayor Mare, still looking a tad bit flustered.

Sunset nodded. "Of course. Are you okay?"

Mayor Mare nodded her head but then said, "I really don't think you staying is a good idea… I mean…"

Sunset looked at her. Horror gripped his chest as it became apparent… this could be one of those impostors Miranda could have been talking about. Why would Mayor Mare, in her right mind, want him to leave Ponyville less defended? Anger began to fill his vision, but he quickly recovered. He smiled and said, "You know what? You're right. I cannot let this situation get the better of me. I am a pacifist, and I should act like one. Come on Fluttershy, we're leaving."

Sunset then gave Fluttershy and Miranda a look that told them everything with perfect clarity: Mayor Mare was an impostor, he was bluffing. The two immediately caught on.

Miranda bowed her head dramatically. "Go then, my friend, go off and settle down far away. I will defend this town alone."

Fluttershy nodded her head vigorously. "Do let's go," she said quietly, "All this talk of fighting is scary, we should catch the train before it leaves."

Mayor Mare looked relieved and then said, "Excellent. As for me, I need to go. I have a train to catch as well."

She left, heading away from the train station.

"We should kill her," said Sunset, actually meaning it for the first time in a while. His vision began to slowly redden as anger began to bubble in his chest again. This impostor had heard all their plans, which means that "the group" Miranda talked about most certainly knew everything they were about to do

"Maybe we just need to calm down for a moment and think out what is happening," said Fluttershy soothingly, giving Sunset a kiss on the cheek. Sunset felt himself calm down and he hugged Fluttershy tightly.

"You're right, dear, I just need to calm down. We can get through this."

He turned to Miranda and said, "You wouldn't mind if I opened a telepathic link with you, would you?"

Miranda nodded, "I've had my mental port open all day, searching for Franklin, but feel free to tap into it. This way we can talk while you 'leave' for the train station."

Sunset opened the link and said over the intercom, "Okay, I'm going to walk to the train with Fluttershy and disappear into the crowds. When we do that, I'm simply going to cloak us and come back."

Miranda winked at them. "Have fun! I'm just going to stand here, trying to figure out how to beat a whole army. Hopefully Franklin will come soon."

Sunset frowned, "Don't count on it. If Mayor Mare is an impostor, than Lightning Dasher probably never got to the Frozen north."

Miranda dramatically rolled her eyes. "I can dream, can't I? You go off and spend some quality time with your lovely Fluttershy now. Precious moments are rare nowadays."

Sunset smiled. He then spread a wing of Fluttershy's back and they trotted off, with Sunset using magic to push Starlight Amber's stroller along. They soon rounded a corner and Miranda was alone. She sat down and looked at the sky and marveled at the beauty of the land. Her eyes brightened as a little bird landed next to her.

"Why hello cutie!" she said as the bird hopped over to her, "How are you on this fine day? I would suggest you go home to your family, things are going to get a little fuzzy here soon."

The bird chirped and flapped away. Miranda smiled after it. She lay on her back and began to look at the clouds blissfully. She had no intention of thinking about war and battle until she absolutely had to. She began to hum a little song about trees of green and friends shaking hands that Franklin had taught her in the old days as she waited for Sunset to return.

"What a wonderful world…"

The words slipped out between Miranda's lips as she sighed and closed her eyes. However, she immediately opened them again as Sunset uncloaked with Fluttershy and Starlight Amber.

"Has Mayor Mare passed by any time recently?" said Sunset as he looked around warily. Miranda smiled and said, "Nope. Everything is clear. Fluttershy, dear, what will you be doing while your husband and I try to keep the town from being burned to the ground?"

Fluttershy wrung her mane. "Oh dear, I really don't know," she confessed, "I don't want to fight, but I don't want to leave Sunset."

Sunset looked around. He then pointed to the abandoned Sugar Cube corner. "Go there," he said, "And look from the top window. You will be able to see me, but remain unseen yourself."

No sooner had Fluttershy entered it than the sound of rumbling M2 Bradleys filled the air. Miranda's eyes saddened.

"And so it begins," she sighed. She then looked at Sunset and said, "Two Harry Potter Galleons say that I get more kills."

Sunset shook his head. "You are so confusing, Miranda," he replied. After a pause he said, "I think I still have a Lord of the Rings ruby from the Lonely Mountain. Will that work?"

Miranda gave him a huge smile. "You betcha. But you have to promise me that you won't die. Your wife and foal needs you."

Sunset's eyes hardened. "I have no intention of dying."

The first wave of soldiers entered the town. They marched complacently up to town square and stopped a dozen meters from Miranda and Sunset.

The troops froze. "I thought there was only supposed to be one guarding," came a whisper that reverberated through the air.

"So Mayor Mare IS an impostor!" exclaimed Miranda dramatically, "Well, too bad! We hoodwinked her! And here you have it: two dimensional travelers, both power tier 2. And wait! That's not all! I present to you Joseph Torrus! One of the most powerful dimensional travelers of all time!"

The army soldiers shuffled uncomfortably. Their superiors had promised them only a small fight with a dimensional traveler. Now there were two, and one they knew very well was capable of laying waste to their army.

"So," snarled Sunset, trying hard to stay calm, "Who is up first?"

"Oh Sunset," came a voice from above them, "I thought I had left you in much better shape than that! Do not harm this army; they are only here because I need them to be."

Miranda and Sunset glanced up. The Paradox, swathed in golden light, slowly alighted in front of them. Sunset eyed the Paradox. He knew that Miranda had said that he was a liar, but he couldn't understand the feelings bubbling inside of him. So many different emotions…

"Sunset, Sunset, my son," he said, "Why are you so troubled?"

Pointing a shaking hoof, Sunset yelled, "You've lied to us! You say you watch over us, but you have done nothing but lie through your teeth! I didn't believe Miranda at first; I gave you the benefit of the doubt, but my trust was misplaced. You've spent eons rearing us, teaching us, and now THIS? WHY?"

The Paradox just looked at him. Slowly he kneeled down until he was looking Sunset straight in the face. "Sunset," he said, "You of all people should understand. You have seen how twisted the multiverse is; you have seen how far it's fallen. We're all burning in a hell right now, but I know who to quench this ungodly fire."

Sunset was working hard to contain his rage. "Then tell us, Paradox," he said, his voice strained.

"It is something a little too complicated to understand, my son," replied the Paradox, "but I need the tree of Harmony. That's all I need. I need the tree of Harmony. Celestia refused to give it on her own free will, so I needed to take it by force. I am desperate, Sunset, I am TRULY desperate. I am so close to solving all our problems, and all I need it that tree… just let me and my soldiers pass, and all will be well… for eternity."

"He's lying."

The Paradox and Sunset turned to look at Miranda, whose eyes had become glazed. The Light Man was speaking through her one last time.

"Hey everyone!" she said, though it was obvious she was not speaking on free will, "Please apologize to Miranda when I'm done, but I really needed to throw something out there."

"Who are you?" said the Paradox. For the first time in his life, Sunset heard fear in his voice.

"It doesn't matter who I am bub," the Light Man said through Miranda, "But I know very well what you are planning. Sunset, he is going to use the tree of Harmony to destroy the ENTIRE multiverse. There is a system rigged between the harmony units. The Paradox and his little cartel of lunatics have double-crossed the demons AND the angels of the celestial heaven to bring this plan into motion, but it is moving just as they set out. All they need now is to trigger the chain reaction via the tree of Harmony that will bring down everything. Every shred of energy, every piece of matter will be dissolved into pure nothing. All that will remain is the Paradox and his friends. Only with their survival will the multiverse be pure… be without the cancer of any evil… or so they think."

The Paradox just stood up and said, "Who are you?"

"As I said, you moron, it doesn't matter who I am," replied the Light Man, "What do you have to say for yourself? These people trusted you… THESE PEOPLE LOVED YOU."

The Paradox looked at Miranda, and then turned to Sunset. Quietly, he extended a hand and a holographic projection popped up. The image expanded and a video linked became live. It was a video of Twilight, strapped to a table. Tears were seeping from her eyes, and her body was heaving. Pictor was standing next to the table, a nasty looking dagger pressing against her belly. He slowly pushed it into her flesh. Twilight jerked a little, but she was in too much shock to really react.

"Why you little…" snarled the Light Man, "I'll fix you."

Miranda gasped as the Light Man left her mind. She shook her head, then she noticed the video. Her faced tightened in pain. "Oh Twilight…" she whimpered.

"Stand aside, Sunset and Miranda," said the Paradox calmly, "I need you two to stand aside. This plan cannot be stopped, it must continue. I am sorry, my son, but the multiverse must be cleansed."

"You sound like an extremist," said Sunset warily, "You sound like one of those that you set us out to stop."

"I've stared into the abyss, and the abyss has stared back into me… and perhaps I have been looking into it for too long. Perhaps I was not careful in my earnest attempt to destroy evil… perhaps I too became evil… perhaps. It's all relative really. The rules are determined by those in power, and I am a god, I am in power. I have determined what is evil, and now it must be stopped. I have crossed heaven, hell, and earth for this, and I will not be stopped now."

"We… we loved you, Paradox," choked Miranda, her eyes tearing up.

"I know, my daughter, but this must continue. Imagine a multiverse free from evil. A multiverse that is pure…"

Sunset bowed his head and motioned to Miranda. "Let them pass," he sighed, "Let them pass."

"But… but he'll kill us all!" exclaimed Miranda, "We can't just-"

Then she again noticed the beaten and bloodied Twilight on the video screen. She sighed and stepped aside as well.

The Paradox nodded and turned to the soldiers. "Surround the place and keep an eye on these two. Don't kill them."

He then turned to a radio-operator pony. "If they resist, call me."

He then snapped a finger and walked off. At the sound of his snapping fingers, all the imposters, the Elite Phasetroopers who had taken the guise of ponies and donkeys of power, appeared.

Mayor Mare, Martique, Commander Hurricane, Cadence, Ahmed Ponhammed, Shadow Scepter, and Corona Oscura uncloaked from around the Paradox and followed him off to the Everfree forest… and the tree of Harmony.

* * *

**Note: Does anyone want me to put up a dimensional travelers guide? As in I would post a full guide as a second story?**


	44. Chapter 44 - Target Acquired

**Note: Hey, I noticed I had feinting and fainting mixed up. I tried to fix and re-update all the errors I could find, but I would appreciate it if you guys would drop me a note if you found any more of these errors. Thanks!**

* * *

_Dimension: My Little Pony_

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Somewhere above the Unicorn Range_

_Time: 4 days after the arrival of the Brothers in Arms corps_

"Sooooo… what next?" said Franklin.

"Franklin… if you say that one more time, I'll… uh… I'll…" growled Daniel.

Franklin then began to laugh and clap. "I've done it! I've successfully made you run out of different types of tricks to kill me!"

"I could just start over again. If you say that one more time, I'll do a loop-the-loop and send you two falling to your deaths," continued Daniel.

"Nice job, Daniel, you've just become repetitive," chuckled Franklin, "And there are three of us now, since we had to carry this hideous creature thingy with us."

"Okay, great, whatever," snorted Daniel, "What we need to do now is head for Canterlot. Princess Celestia should be there. We can take this godforsaken piece of meat to her and have her wring a confession from it."

"Oh, that would be a brilliant idea," called Discord, "I was hoping we would be able to drop by the castle. I can show Celestia and Lulu how I took care of Rarity and Pinkie Pie!"

"You say that like you did a good job!" exclaimed Rarity indignantly.

Franklin grinned. "Discordius, I think you and I will get along just great. Maybe we could go on a prank spree sometime!" Suddenly Franklin dropped his grin as his sharp eyes picked out something below. He pulled out his sniper rifle and scoped it out. He put it down and said, as if he could hardly believe it, "Um… Night Shade, your little friends, the Cutie Mark Crusaders… they're here."

Night Shade grabbed the sniper rifle and looked through the scope. He then handed it back to Franklin and said to Daniel, "Daniel! Swoop down! What are they doing here?"

"We're about to find out!" yelled Daniel as he swooped down.

Discord blinked at Daniel, looking confused. Then he looked at where they were diving to.

"Oh! I say Rarity! Your sister is down there! A weird place to have a vacation don't you think?"

Rarity's eyes widened as she peeked through a window of the plane and noticed a small pony down on the range below that looked remarkably like her little sister. She opened her window slightly then took a deep breath and yelled, "SWEETIE BELL! WHEN I GET DOWN THERE YOU'LL BE IN TROUBLE!"

Discord chortled as he began to lower his airplane.

"Night Shade!" gasped Scootaloo, who collapsed on the ground from exhaustion, "We… have a letter… from Sunset!"

Night Shade leapt down and gave the Cutie Mark Crusaders hugs.

"Woah… a DRAGON!" exclaimed Button Mash, "Can I ride him? Huh? Huh?"

Daniel rolled his eyes, "Maybe kid. Maybe. I'll check my schedule."

Franklin, on the other hand, was really worried.

"Guys?" he said, "I think you might want to take a look at this."

As the Brothers in Arms corps gathered around the letter, Rarity stormed up to Sweetie Bell from Discord's landed plane.

"Sweetie Bell! What in the world were you thinking, coming all the way out here?!" she exclaimed crossly.

"Sorry Rarity!" said Sweetie Bell, "But there was this warning about the alliance coming… then there was Lightning Dasher disappearing with a flash leaving this letter… then there was us deciding to bring this letter here… then here we are!"

Rarity just looked at Sweetie Bell. "Er… beg pardon?"

"Ooooohhh! I just love it when I disappear with a flash!" exclaimed Pinkie Pie with a bounce.

"I do too," said Discord with a wink. He then disappeared and then reappeared with a flash.

Pontius just rolled his eyes and chuckled at how remarkable the situation was as a whole.

As this was going on, the Brothers in Arms corps were reading over the letter.

Franklin bit his lip as he looked at Scootaloo. "How long did it take you to deliver this letter?"

Scootaloo, who was lying on her back, waved her hoof in the air. "Oh, I don't know, several hours. It was a workout I can tell you!"

Franklin bit his lip even harder as he looked back at his teammates. "This is really not good," he said, "anything could have happened by now."

Daniel nodded but sighed. "We cannot do anything though, even at supersonic speed it might take an hour at least to make it to Ponyville. We have just ran out of time. If we only had our portals…"

Franklin sighed and put his head in his hands. "My sister… alone…" he said. His voice trembled a little.

Night Shade trotted over and sat next to him and put a hoof on his shoulder. "She will be fine," he said calmly.

Franklin shook his head and shrugged off Night Shade's hoof. "No," he said, "She won't be fine. She is fighting a whole army armed with advanced technology. I am her brother! I am supposed to be there for her! If only… if only I could teleport! Damn! Damn it all! We've been played from the beginning!"

Daniel sighed as well, blasting out a burst of hot air. "You're right, our enemy is a whole lot smarter than we think, and obviously smarter than us. But there is nothing we can do about it now."

"We need backup," said Night Shade.

"We don't have backup," replied Daniel.

"You totally have backup," came a voice from behind them.

The whole group turned to see Flaming Star, Ditzy Doo, and Spike trotting through a portal.

"Guess who found and destroyed the portal-blocking device?" said Flaming Star with a wink.

"You may be a pain in the ass, firstborn," said Daniel with a rare smile, "but you are absolutely amazing."

Flaming Star bowed. He then noticed the unconscious for of the Phasetrooper that they had captured.

"Is this one of those creatures?" he asked, pointing with a hoof.

Daniel nodded. Flaming Star eyed it and nodded. "Yep," he said, "It most certainly looks like one. From what I understand, if there is one here, there is a major chance that there will be more. In fact, who knows, there could be hundreds here, posing as ponies in high power. They could be literally running both sides of the war in fact!"

Night Shade nodded, "I can see that happening, but we cannot be certain for sure. Is… is there a way we can find out?"

Daniel grimaced. "I really have no idea," he said, "If they are operating under someone, they will obviously not give information up easily. From what I understand, they might not give up information at all. Unless… unless… Flaming Star, can you use your stare-of-the-souls to figure out what is going on?"

Flaming Star stroked his chin with a hoof as he thought about it. Then he nodded slowly. "Maybe," he mused, "I've only used it to detect deceptions and understand truths… but I think I can also use it to glean truths. I suppose I could try."

Flaming Star strolled up and grabbed the creature by the throat. He then slapped it into wakefulness.

"Look me in the eyes, creature," he said. The Phasetrooper growled but complied. Flaming Star trapped it in his stare-of-the-souls. Sweat began to bead on his forehead as he began to drag information from the mind of the Phasetrooper. Little by little, the plan the Paradox had for this dimension came to light. The horror of what was even now transpiring caused his head to spin. He stumbled and fell down. He got up, breathing heavily.

"What is it?" said Daniel, his eyes full of worry. The firstborn was NEVER truly worried.

"The Paradox…" breathed Flaming Star, "The Paradox… The Paradox… He has been lying to us."

Franklin chuckled nervously. "Yeah right. Flaming Star, you're such a kidder! I got a better one though. What do you call a polar bear with earmuffs on?"

"No, no, no…" said Flaming Star, "It's all been part of the plan. WE'VE been all part of the plan. It's all about the harmony units. They're… they're weapons of mass destruction. All we've ever been created to do is protect them until the Paradox deemed it time to activate them. He's going to kill us all... just so that the multiverse can be cleansed of what he deems to be impure…"

"The Paradox? Dad? No… NO NO NO NO NO!" yelled Night Shade, "My dad would NEVER DO THAT!"

Flaming Star shook his head. "We… we have to find out," he said slowly, "Perhaps… perhaps this creature has been misinformed somehow."

The Phasetrooper chuckled. "You will wish that when it is over, Flaming Star… you will all-"

Franklin smashed the Phasetroopers head in with his rifle butt.

"Franklin!" shouted Daniel, "Control yourself!"

Flaming Star continued to shake his head. "Paradox… THE Paradox. I cannot… He's never given me any reason to be suspicious of him! Eight thousand years down the drain… Eight thousand years he's trusted and mentored me. Was this his plan all along? Has this been what he's always been planning? But… but…"

Daniel blinked calmly. Despite the horror of the news, he took every piece of information a baby step at a time. He looked at Flaming Star and said, "Calm down Flaming Star, I understand that this is terrible, but we're used to people betraying us. Or, at least, we should be used to it by now."

Flaming Star looked at Daniel irately. "This is the Paradox we're talking about," he snapped, "The one who gave you your powers, the one who raised Night Shade from a baby."

Daniel sighed and went to sit next to Night Shade, who had buried his head in his hoofs and was trembling. The black Pegasus wasn't taking the news very well.

"Night Shade," Daniel said, trying to sound calm and soothing, "You can't let your emotions get the better of you. As Flaming Star said, this creature might have been misinformed, or found a way to somehow forge truths. Nothing is certain at this point."

"My… Dad…" said Night Shade, still shaking. After a moment, he took a deep breath and got up. He nodded his head and said, "Okay. Okay, I'm calm now. Let's get moving. The sooner we act the sooner we can prove the Paradox's innocence."

"So," said Rarity, who was staring wide-eyed at the dead body of the Phasetrooper, "Where to?"

"The Harmony tree," replied Flaming Star, who too had gotten himself under control. With that he opened a portal straight to the tree of Harmony in the Everfree forest.

* * *

_Dimension: My Little Pony_

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Ponyville_

_Time: 4 days after the arrival of the Brothers in Arms corps_

Miranda and Sunset sat side-by-side, surrounded by a powerful electromagnetic prison shield. Soldiers pointed weapons at the from all directions, and the radio-operator stood by, next to his radio.

"Okay, at least they didn't think we had a telepathic link up," said Sunset to Miranda over the intercom.

"Yes," replied Miranda, "That was fortunate. Now what we need to do is figure out a way to shut down this shield, take out all these soldiers, and disable the radio before that operator can send out any warning or message. This should be a piece of cake… Except for the shutting down the shield part, and the taking out all the soldiers part, and the disabling the radio part."

"That's right Miranda," chuckled Sunset over the link, "Keep our spirits high. That is something you are very good at."

"It's a gift."

"So, do you have an actually plan, then?"

"Nope. But even if I did, I would be loath to really put it into action, with Princess Twilight in danger and all. She dies and Flaming Star will be heartbroken… Something I could never stand for."

"And there you have it folks, the number one reason why Miranda is probably the kindest dimensional traveler that ever existed."

"Aw, you make me blush, you flatterer. However, I suggest you save up those and give them to your wife, she deserves them more."

Sunset's ears pricked up. "That's right!" he exclaimed over the intercom, "Fluttershy! She's still in Sugar Cube Corner, and, from the looks of it, she hasn't been detected yet!"

The second he had finished broadcasting that message to Miranda, Fluttershy poked her head out of the window and looked at the radio-operating pony. She then glanced at Sunset and popped her head back inside.

"Is… is Fluttershy actually going to do something?" said Miranda, almost incredulously.

Sunset chuckled audibly, "She is. We need to get ready. If I know my sweetheart, she'll successfully disable the radio-operator. Miranda, as soon as that happens, release a EMP pulse set to destructive interference. The feedback from the blast should cause their shield generators to overload and explode. I'll then unleash a tidal wave that will knock these guys backwards. When we've done that, we will destroy the radio, grab Fluttershy and make a break for the Everfree forest. Once we're clear of Ponyville, we can easily disable the entire army and go off to stop… well, to reason with the Paradox."

Miranda gave Sunset a side-long glance as she said, over the link, "You think the Paradox will listen to us?"

Sunset blinked. "I don't know," he admitted, "But I will not fight him. We owe him too much. And besides, I refuse to kill anyone."

Miranda nodded slightly and then looked at Sugar Cube Corner. Fluttershy poked her head out of the second-story window once more. In her front hoofs she was carrying a large platter with a massive creamy ice-cream cake. She hoisted the thing above her head and then said, "I'm sorry!" She then let the cake drop.

The operator glanced up and took the pastry full in the face. Remarkably, it knocked him out cold. The second that happened, Miranda unleashed the EMP blast, and all the shield generators simultaneously exploded. The shield dropped and Sunset leaped up.

"Hang on!" he yelled as he called upon his control of H2O and unleashed a massive tidal wave. The thing swept every soldier off their hoofs and carried them away. The tank stood, though, and they immediately turned their turrets to fire. Miranda quickly threw up an energy field and the large shells exploded harmlessly off them.

"You destroy the radio and get Fluttershy," said Miranda, "I'll deal with the tanks."

Sunset nodded and ran towards Sugar Cube Corner. It was only a dozen meters, but it felt like a kilometer. Time seemed to slow down as massive tank shells buzzed by him as he ran. Nevertheless, he got by unscathed. Blasting the radio into nothing with a discharge of dark matter, Sunset dashed into Sugar Cube Corner, where he was met by Fluttershy, who had Starlight Amber on her back.

Fluttershy hugged Sunset tightly as she said, "Oh! I was so WORRIED! What are we going to do now?"

Sunset hugged her tightly back as he said, "We're going to get out of here. Don't worry, Miranda has got our backs."

The three burst through the door. Miranda was sitting next to the flaming hull of a tank, cooking a marshmallow. She turned her bright eyes towards them and waved. The entire area was clear. All that was there was a dozen burning tank hulls. Sunset was about to remark upon the sight when his sharp hearing picked up the rumbling of more tanks in the distance. Sighing he galloped towards Miranda.

"You're going to have to wait to eat those, Miranda," he said, "We need to the hell away. More tanks are coming, and I have no intention of risking my wife or this town with a confrontation just yet."

Miranda nodded and she got up. The four galloped off in the direction of the Everfree forest.

"Well, our plan worked perfectly. So much so that I don't think we're going to be followed," said Miranda as they continued to gallop, "Now here is the most important question: what are we going to do when we confront the Paradox?"

Sunset bit his lip and said, "I have no idea. I just have no idea. I will not fight him… but we still have to stop him. Perhaps we can still reason with him!"

Miranda just sighed a sad sigh and continued galloping. Soon they had passed Ponyville borders and were entering the Everfree forest.

"Fluttershy, you know the quickest way to the tree of Harmony," exclaimed Sunset, "lead the way!"

Fluttershy blanched at the thought, but after a moment of contemplation, her eyes hardened. "This way everypony!" she exclaimed as she spread open her wings and took off.

In a few minutes they were standing outside the gorge that lead to the tree. Sunset groaned as he saw the beings guarding the door. They were the Elite Phasetroopers who had replaced almost every important pony in the entire continent: Mayor Mare, Martique, Commander Hurricane, Cadence, Ahmed Ponhammed, Shadow Scepter, and Corona Oscura.

"There is NO way we can take them all out," sighed Sunset, almost giving up hope.

"Don't give up!" said Miranda, "We will find a way!"

No sooner had those words left her lips than a large portal opened up behind them. The Cutie Mark Crusaders, Button Mash, Pontius, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Discord, the Brothers in Arms corps, Ditzy Doo, Spike, and Flaming Star all stepped out. And no sooner had the portal closed than Rainbow Dash came blasting out of the sky to land with them, and Applejack poked her head from around a tree.

"Well I'll be darned!" exclaimed Applejack, "And here was I thinkin' I would have to talk all those nasties down there alone!"

"Same here!" exclaimed Rainbow Dash.

"Likewise," chucked Miranda, "See Sunset? There is always a way."

"Where's my dad?" exclaimed Night Shade in a strained voice, "I need to talk to him!"

"Slow down there," said Daniel. He then turned to Sunset and said, "I take it you've encountered some life-altering news?"

Sunset nodded. "The Paradox… is evil. He is going to use the tree of Harmony to wipe out the multiverse. And what's worse, if that was even possible, he has Twilight hostage. She's being tortured even as we speak. If we try anything, Twilight will die in the most agonizing way possible."

Flaming Star began to breathe hard as anger began to fill his vision. "The Paradox has done this?" he snarled.

Sunset nodded, but moved to block Flaming Star from rocketing off for the kill. "He has, which is why we need to be careful of what we do. We need to approach this with tact."

"We need to do that, and we need to do that fast," added Miranda, "We have no idea how long, or how short, it will take for the Harmony tree to be activated."

"Harmony... the hell it is," chuckled Franklin as he pulled out his sniper rifle and began to clean it.

"Well, what's the plan then?" exclaimed Discord, "I do hope it involves explosions!"

"I hope it involves very little few explosions!" interjected Rarity.

"Explosions!" exclaimed Ditzy Doo.

Sunset shook his head. He beckoned Flaming Star and Daniel over to a corner. The three whispered harshly to one another for about a minute before they went back to join the rest.

"We have a plan," said Flaming Star, "And it might work if done right."

Everyone but Night Shade leaned in eagerly.

"You sound like this is going to be an attack!" he snapped, "I just want to go down there and talk."

"You have no idea what he'll do to you!" warned Daniel.

"I'm his SON, Daniel," said Night Shade irately, "He'll listen to me."

Sunset sighed and nodded. "Then be happy that I incorporated you into my plan. Your job is to go down there and see if you can talk your way past the guards. However, you'll have the telepathic link open at all times. Talk to him, cuddle with him, whatever, but stall him. If you can talk some sense into him, then let us know immediately and we'll call off the attack. If not… well, then we're going in with hellfire."

Night Shade nodded. "Whatever, great. I'm going now."

He opened up a link with the rest of the dimensional travelers, sped up his molecules, and blasted off to the mouth of the harmony cave.

"Stop!" snarled Commander Hurricane, "How dare you… Oh…"

Despite the fact Night Shade had only seen creatures like this thrice times now, these beings seemed very familiar with him. They turned and whispered to one another, and then they stepped aside and let him pass.

Night Shade trotted into the cave slowly. There was the Paradox, his adopted father, standing in front of the tree, talking to someone over a holographic interface.

"You cannot kill her yet, Pictor, you need to wait. It doesn't matter anyway," said the Paradox calmly.

"Dad?" said Night Shade in a small voice.

The Paradox whirled. He stood there, staring at Night Shade for a full minute, quietly.

"Night Shade," was all he said.

"What's going on?" continued Night Shade, "Why do you have Twilight captive? What's with all this deception?"

"Night Shade, my son, you need to understand that I am acting in our best interests."

"What do you mean?"

"You and your friends have fought too hard and too long to clean the multiverse of an evil that is too strong and too prevalent to ever go away. I have mourned this predicament for a long time, but now I have the solution: I will start the multiverse anew."

"What do you mean 'anew?' What will happen to everyone?"

"Well… Night Shade, my son, mostly everyone will die."

"But… but that's genocide! Genocide on an enormous scale! That's pure evil!"

"You don't understand, Night Shade. It's all relative. Evil is really just what people in power determine to be unlawful. Before our time, the angels of the celestial heaven determined what was evil, but my brothers and I have grown in power. We are the gods now and we have determined what is right and what is wrong. What we are doing is simply right and orderly."

"You're no god. I know you too well."

"Do you, Night Shade?"

"Well… you're my dad. I think I would know my own dad pretty well."

"Night Shade… I have lived a trillion years. Rearing you over the course of ten years was NOTHING."

"But… but…"

"You're not really my son, little pony."

Just outside the gorge, Franklin, who had been toying with a fist-sized rock, smashed the stone with his bare hands as he snarled in a rage, "That's it. That's over with. We're moving in. I get the traitor's head."

Sunset's eyes hardened. He turned to Rarity. "Rarity," he said, "Stay here with Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Starlight Amber. We're going in."

"Hey!" exclaimed Rainbow Dash indignantly, "I want to help!"

Sunset nodded. "I sent off a message to Luna and Celestia earlier, go find them. Head off in the direction of Fillydelphia and bring them here at top speed. If our plan is already in motion, go to Ponyville and engage the alliance army there."

Rainbow nodded and blasted off. Sunset then turned to face the others.

"Anyone else want to help in anyway?"

"Ooooh! Me! Me! Me! Me!" exclaimed Button Mash waving a hoof in the air excitedly.

Sunset conjured up a Game Foal and tossed it to him. "Your mission is to be level 41 of The Legend of Zebrda: Ocarina of Time."

He then turned to the Cutie Mark Crusaders. "Your job is to keep Rarity from fainting."

"I beg your pardon?!" exclaimed Rarity, but Sunset just turned to Discord.

"Discord come with us. I need you to be able to cause a distraction. But we have to be careful: anything drastic will probably cost Twilight her life."

"This is already drastic," muttered Flaming Star, his heart gripped in the icy claws of fear. Suddenly, he turned and said, "No. We can't do it."

Franklin blinked at him. "What do you mean we can't do it?" he exclaimed.

Flaming Star shook his head, "I mean we can't do it. At all. I will not let any of you jeopardize my love by acting recklessly like you all are doing now."

"And if we don't do anything? What will happen to all of us in the end?" asked Daniel skeptically.

"He has a point, Flaming Star," sighed Sunset, "If we don't do anything, we'll all die. I am sure as heck not going to let my lovely wife die because a lunatic had convinced himself that he's God and wants to cleanse the multiverse of life."

"There has to be another way," said Flaming Star in a strained voice.

"There is no other way," snapped Franklin, "Get out of the way, firstborn."

"Make me," snarled Flaming Star.

* * *

**Note: Okay. I am going to be posting a guide/bio of the dimensional travelers soon. Just wanted to let you guys know. Also, I think I will begin to post chapters only on weekdays, at 4:00 PDT. Okay? Anyway, let me know how you think this part will turn out! And don't worry, this story is far from over. Now give me some R&R stuff! I love reviews! I think I should make that my motto... If I had a motto...**


	45. Chapter 45 - Pyrrhic Victory

**Note: Don't worry everyone, the dimensional travelers will eventually start showing up. Just not yet. I need to make sure everything here is finished off first. I will actually release the guide slightly before any of the travelers see action, though.**

* * *

_Dimension: Unknown_

_Planet: Unknown_

_Specific Location: Unknown_

_Time: Unknown_

"You know what Paradox? Screw you," snarled Pictor as he cut off the live feed.

He then turned to the barely conscious Twilight.

"I've always wanted to perform an autopsy on a living subject," he chuckled. Slowly he drew the blade across her flesh from her collarbone to just above her pelvic region. Twilight was in too much shock to do anything but give a little gasp.

"Let's see, I think I'll pull your small intestines out first… then your kidney. If you die, I'll defibrillate your heart and keep you conscious. We will have plenty of fun until the day is over, little pony."

He extended a hand and slowly reached for her exposed organs as he laughed sadistically. Suddenly the automatic door opened and another being like Pictor strolled in.

He was a little taller than the Paradox and Pictor, but a little less broad. He too wore white body armor with a masked helmet. His visor was that of an open flame, glowing red. Bands of red and purple ran down his arms.

"What do you want brother?" snapped Pictor, "Can't you see I'm busy?"

The other being didn't break his stride. He strolled straight up to Pictor and punched his face with all his might. The shockwave cause the door to buckle and the wall to crack and crumble. Pictor collapsed to the ground, unconscious. Immediately shouts rang out from the door, but the new being simply snapped his fingers once. The damaged automatic doors became fused together into a solid wall of metal.

"Oh Twilight, you're going to be okay," the being said with genuine concern straining his voice, "I'm going to get you to Flaming Star. He'll have the time to heal you. And don't worry, I'm breaking out all your other friends as well."

Twilight didn't even react. She was barely hovering above death. The being quickly opened a portal and it began to surround her and the table with it. In a moment it had engulfed her and spirited her away to the My Little Pony dimension.

* * *

_Dimension: My Little Pony_

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: The Everfree Forest_

_Time: 4 days after the arrival of the Brothers in Arms corps_

"Great, so we've decided not to save the multiverse then. Instead we've opted to host a free-for-all catfight. Wonderful," snapped Miranda, "If you ask my honest opinion, I think you're all being idiots. We need to reach a non-violent understanding, and we need to reach it now."

"I'll be more than happy to after I've knocked out Franklin," said Flaming Star as he took a step forward. Sunset scrambled between them and yelled, "Stop! We have to stop!"

"I'm not stopping until Twilight's safe," said Flaming Star as he pushed by Sunset.

"Oh, well then it's good that she is," said Discord airily. The whole group stopped arguing and looked to where Discord was pointing. A couple of meters away a portal opened up and deposited the white torture table, with Twilight still on it, on the forest floor.

Flaming Star, not questioning anything he had just seen, dashed towards her. There she was, a hairsbreadth from death, her body cut open.

Spike scrambled up to her as well. "Oh no... Twilight! Twilight! Is she going to be okay?" Then he noticed the state Twilight was in. His face turned a dark green, and then he fainted.

Flaming Star didn't answer. He then turned to the rest of the group and said, "Twilight's safe. Go down there and kill them all."

Immediately Franklin pulled out his sniper rifle and began to shoot the Elite Phasetroopers. In seconds three of them were down. Daniel spread his wings and, with Sunset and Miranda on his back, swooped in low to engage the others. The Elite Phasetroopers immediately opened up with a hail of energy bolts, but an energy shield from Sunset protected them. Taking a deep breath, Daniel blasted the whole gorge with a massive storm of fire. It melted the rock walls and scorched the earth. The fire cleared to reveal the dead body of one more Phasetrooper. Three more to go. These Phasetroopers immediately formed up in a delta formation and unleashed a massive blast of pure power. It shattered Sunset's shield and blasted Daniel and his friends back. The Phasetroopers were about to redouble their attacks when suddenly a pink elephant popped into existence above them and dropped straight on top of them, breaking their formation. Discord laughed as he snapped his fingers once more. Suddenly the Phasetroopers were dressed as clowns with ridiculously large footwear. They stumbled and tripped… that was the last thing they ever did. The second they hit the ground a hail of lethal energy bolts from Franklin wiped them out. Daniel, Sunset, and Miranda entered the harmony cave and rushed to meet Night Shade.

The black Pegasus was crying, actually crying, in a corner as the Paradox simply continued working on the tree of Harmony. The Paradox was holding the mysterious six-keyhole box that Twilight had discovered when she had first found the tree of Harmony with her friends. He placed three fingers from his left hand over three keyholes, and then he placed three fingers from his right hand over the other three keyholes. The box began to glow. Then it opened. There was a mysterious multifaceted cube in the center. The Paradox picked it up and tapped it in several places lightly. Immediately it and the tree of Harmony began to glow. Sunset, Daniel, and Miranda began to rush forward.

"Don't come any closer, or I'll call for Twilight's head," said Paradox briskly without turning around. Daniel just rolled his eyes and lashed out with his tail. He wrapped it around the Paradox and threw him away from the tree. Surprised as he was, the Paradox elegantly twisted in the air and landed on his feet without a slip. He looked at them curiously for moment. Then he opened a channel with Pictor in the torture chamber.

The feed went live, but all he saw was Pictor, laying on the ground, with a massive dent in his helmet. He closed it and said, "Doxia… I should have known."

He looked at Daniel, Sunset, and Miranda. He then snapped a finger. Suddenly Sunset felt his power drain from him. He immediately tried to hurl a bolt of lightning, but the attack fizzed to nothing on his hoof. They were powerless.

"I should have done that hours ago," said the Paradox promptly. He began to stroll back to the tree of Harmony, but Sunset dashed in front of him; blocking his path.

"Get out of my way Joseph," said the Paradox calmly.

"No, Paradox, if you want to get by me, you're going to have to kill me," Sunset said stoutly.

"Think about your family, Joseph, think about your lovely wife," persisted the Paradox.

"It won't matter. If I let you pass, we'll all be dead anyway," continued Sunset.

"You have all shown remarkable resourcefulness and morality," mused the Paradox calmly, "So much so that… I know, I'll let this dimension exist indefinitely. The multiverse shall be cleansed, but this one little universe will be safe. If you just step aside, I promise you that this place will not be harmed."

Sunset faltered when he heard this. That was all he had ever wanted to be: safe. The Paradox was offering him a safe house. He and his family could live in peace and safety forever… Then he remembered. He remembered the other families and the other lives of the multiverse. They had the same right to live in peace as well. If he let the Paradox kill them, he would be no better than his former self: a psychopathic killer, a murderer. It didn't matter what happened to him, he had to be willing to give up his life to protect the innocents.

"Well? What say you?" said the Paradox.

"I say no," said Sunset slowly. "Why Paradox? Why? You said that I would soon have a chance to redeem myself, that an evil darker than demons was working in the multiverse! And what of Celestia's vision three years ago? What of that?"

"I lied," said the Paradox simply, "I just told everyone what they wanted to hear. I was always good at that."

Sunset nearly fainted right there. This was his worst nightmare come true. Over the eons, dimensional travelers had grown to pretty much worship the Paradox. He was the embodiment of all that was good. He was joy, love, peace, longsuffering, goodness, faithfulness, and self-control. He was generosity, loyalty, laughter, honesty, kindness, and magic. Now all saw him for what he truly was: an extremely powerful and extremely intelligent liar. He was nothing more than a glorified evil mastermind.

The Paradox slowly got down on one knee and said, "I've never killed a single being in my life, do not make you my first. And believe me; I will have no regrets if I do kill you. The things you have done in the past will most certainly balance out my conscious. Just imagine it to be something of a little payback from all those families you killed back in the dark days… madman of the multiverse."

Sunset shook his head and said, "I am no longer the madman of the multiverse. I am a hero. I will protect this dimension to my last breath, and everpony knows it."

"Apparently," said the Paradox. He then stood up and charged his fist with deadly energy. He fired.

Time seemed to slow down as Sunset watched the coiling bolts of energy flash towards him. He closed his eyes and waited for the searing pain and the cold darkness to envelope him… but they didn't come. Suddenly a massive shove from behind sent him spiraling away and he opened his eyes to see another nightmare come true: Miranda… taking the full bolt through her chest.

The Paradox stared complacently as Miranda collapsed to the ground, coughing up blood. He then turned slowly around and opened a portal. All he said before he left was, "I will be back. But you've earned a moment of silence."

The moment the Paradox left, Sunset's powers returned in all their might. He dashed over to Miranda and began to pour healing energy into her, but to no avail. As he did so, he said over the intercom, "Franklin, get in here now."

"Give me a second, Sunset," snapped Franklin, "I'm helping Flaming Star!"

"Franklin… you're sister is dying," said Daniel, who, with Night Shade, had joined Sunset. There was a pause. Suddenly Franklin flashed into existence along with Discord next to Miranda.

"No… no sis… no…" he said, his voice becoming strained.

Miranda smiled. "Oh, this is much better," she sighed dreamily, "Just get me the Cutie Mark Crusaders and the cute little pony Button Mash here and I'll be just fine." Franklin disappeared with a flash. A moment later a portal opened and Franklin ushered in the Cutie Mark Crusaders and Button Mash. Then Rarity, Applejack, Ditzy Doo, Fluttershy, Starlight Amber, and Pinkie Pie came through.

"Oh Miranda," sobbed Sweetie Bell as she clutched Miranda's hoof, "Oh Miranda… you're going to be okay!"

"Of course you are!" squeaked Scootaloo, her eyes full of pain, "Right?"

"Of course!" said Apple Bloom, her eyes brimming with tears. Button Mash just stood to one side, his eyes overflowing with tears.

Miranda smiled calmly. "Of course I am, sweeties, I am going to be just fine. Bright skies… Quiet brooks… Lush forests… all those are waiting for me. All it takes is a single… step…"

Miranda died. The Cutie Mark Crusaders and Button Mash broke down crying. Franklin slowly stood up and bowed his head. He didn't say anything. No cries of pain, no oaths for revenge, just silence.

In that moment, several things happened at once: Portals opened up in the Crystal Empire, Irrum, Saddle Arabia, and Equus and these countries' true leaders entered their respective homelands from the Paradox's prison; confused, disheveled, but well. Also at the same time, the invading alliance army surrendered in Ponyville as they became surrounded by a massive Equestria army led by Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, and Commander Rainbow Dash. And finally… Twilight opened her eyes.

"Wha… what's going on?" she croaked.

Flaming Star didn't reply at first. He was pouring untold amounts of energy into her body, knitting together her flesh, sealing up internal bleeding, and reconnecting severed nerves and veins. He didn't stint, he took every bit of reserved energy to ensure that her body was well again.

"Flaming Star? Is that you?" she croaked again.

Flaming Star, who was still pouring incredible amounts of energy repairing all the damage Pictor had wrought upon his fillyfriend, just shook his head. "Hush Twilight," he gasped, "I'm… almost…"

He collapsed on top of her. "Done…" he whispered. There was a pause.

"Twilight?" he said quietly, "Will you marry me?"

Twilight Sparkle smiled a little smile. "Yes."

That was all she said. Then Twilight and Flaming Star both passed out as the sounds of mourning echoed throughout the Everfree forest.

* * *

**Note: Aaaaannndddd we're done with this part! That's right! Part 3 is completed! Now on to part 4! See you guys on the other side! So, what did you all think of part 3's finale?**


	46. Chapter 46 - This is Goodbye

_Dimension: Orbis Terrarum II_

_Planet: Helios_

_Specific Location: The Burnt Wastelands_

_Time: Two Centuries after the Great Rebellion_

Samuel Dellor desperately dragged his body through the ash and dust up to the body of his friend Tiffany Neveu. Reaching forwards, he shook the body as he gasped out, "Tiffany? Tiffany!"

Tiffany Neveu was dead. Samuel gave something between a gasp and a sob. He hadn't meant this to happen. All he had wanted to do was get away from people, and now it had all ended with his best friend getting killed.

It hadn't started this way: After the era of Anarchy had grown too intense, 13-year-old Samuel Dellor and 18-year-old Tiffany Neveu fled from the chaos. By pure luck they ended up in the My Little Pony dimension in Fillydelphia. Samuel settled down and made a home for himself, pointedly ignoring Tiffany, his neighbors, and those who wished to get to know him. He did this for about a year. Then Joseph Torrus arrived. In less than a year he had turned the whole world upside-down, and Samuel hated it. He found Tiffany and asked her if they would like to go adventuring once more, to find a quieter, more secluded place where violence and hatred had never touched. Tiffany suggested the Looking For Group dimension. Samuel liked this idea, and so they set off… Unfortunately, they were immediately caught up in a war between a cartel of interdimensional mercenaries and a demon clan. Not wishing to be killed by either side, Samuel and Tiffany were forced to join the mercenary cartel and fight in the war for a year… and it all led up to this. With both legs broken, Tiffany dead, and demons running amok across the burning surface of Helios.

"No… Tiffany… All I wanted to do is be safe, you didn't have to die for me," gasped Samuel as he tried to get up to no avail. His legs were broken. Suddenly the sound of footsteps behind him caused him to whirl around and bring up a tornado of acid and caustic chemicals. However, in his pained and taxed state, the tornado faltered and dissipated to reveal five demons. They laughed at him.

"Oh no," hissed the tallest one, the leader, "It looks like Samuel Dellor is all out of options."

Giving a retching gasp, Samuel called upon his reserves and hurled a blast of concentrated Hydrochloric acid. It burned right through one of the demon's head. All the leader did was laugh as Samuel collapsed, breathing raggedly.

"Oh well, at least you get one last kill to your name, not that anybody will remember it," the demon leader snarled, "Any last words?"

"Go to hell," gasped Samuel.

The leader paused and blinked. "Ironic," he said as he conjured up a demonic blade. He approached Samuel and prepared to stab him.

All of a sudden, a bright light blinded everyone's vision for a moment. When the light cleared, the demons hissed with horror: Before them was a human with wings, golden armor, an elaborate helmet, and a long double-handed sword that was glowing with archaic celestial runes on its side. It was an angel.

"Back away demons, he is not yours to take," the angel said calmly.

The demons leader hissed, "What gives you the right to take our prey?! We are free to feast upon the fallen!"

"But he is not a fallen one, Paimon. Run back to your master and tell him that heaven is most amused with how well he handled being lied to by the Paradox."

Paimon screeched and signaled to his companions. They rushed the angel. In less than a second, the angel had decapitated three, and blasted the fourth with a bolt of celestial energy. The angel let the dust settle for a moment before placing the sword in its strap and floating over to where Samuel lay, gasping for breath.

Samuel looked at the angel and said, "I thought… that angels… never left the celestial heaven anymore…"

The angel lightly tapped Samuel's legs, healing them immediately.

"We didn't, until now," said the angel, "heaven is very displeased with the Paradox, so we are preparing to apprehend him. Like a police force would do to a petty thief."

"The Paradox… what?" gasped Samuel, who was convinced that he was hallucinating. No one had ever seen an angel in their true form for millennia, and the Paradox was his leader, why had they branded him as a petty criminal?

"It is not important yet," explained the angel, "We need to get you out of here though, before more demons come. I cannot vanquish them and protect you at the same time."

The angel helped Samuel to his feet and then snapped a finger. A portal to the planes of Rohan in the Lord of the Rings dimension opened, and the two stepped through.

"Who are you?" said Samuel as he stumbled into the dimension.

"I am archangel Michael," said the angel, "I am here to scout out the situation in this multiverse. The Paradox must be stopped and I need to find a way to do it."

"You keep speaking of the Paradox committing a felony or something, what do you mean?"

"The Paradox has done many things over the past couple of eons. In fact, just recently, in the My Little Pony dimension, he attempted to activate the tree of Harmony, a cleverly hidden weapon of mass destruction designed to end all life in this multiverse."

"The My Little Pony dimension? Impossible."

"That is right; you hail from there, do you not?"

"Well, sort of."

"Of course, you come from Earth Prime, but then came to the My Little Pony dimension in an attempt to escape everyone you ever knew… so you could wipe out the terrible memories of the civil war waging between your fellow travelers."

"How do you know this?"

"I am an archangel. I know everything."

Samuel shook his head and sat down. "Then why didn't you save Tiffany?" he mumbled.

Michael actually sat down next to Samuel and placed a gold-wrought hand on his shoulder. Something that had not happened for pretty much forever.

This contact sent bolts of tingling bolts of hope and happiness searing through Samuel's nervous system as Michael imparted a little bit of light.

"Fate decided otherwise, Samuel," said Michael calmly, "She was chosen to move on."

Samuel buried his face in his hands and moaned, "What am I going to do now? My only friend is…"

His voice caught. He took a shaking breath and continued, "My only friend is dead, and I am pretty much alone."

"You're not alone, Samuel, the Paradox just wants you to think so," replied Michael, "The traveler database has been tampered with. Look up the Abimael 'James' Sethson."

Samuel did so. "The firstborn is dead," he said as he checked the database, "He died in an ambush in the Warhammer 40K dimension."

"And that's where it's wrong," said Michael, "The firstborn arrived in the My Little Pony dimension a year after you left."

"Well, I couldn't care less, Michael. I don't care if the Paradox is evil, or if anyone is still even alive. I need to get away. Far away. Is there a place where I could hide and never be found?"

"You cannot run from your troubles, Samuel, you need to face them. We give strength to those who need it; for you are never tested outside what you can resist."

Samuel conjured up a small globule of caustic chemicals and levitated in front of him. He began to toss it in the air and contort the shape as he sighed, "I don't know. I just want to run. I've fought my fair share of demons for seven years now. I don't want to fight anymore. I just want to have peace."

"Peace will come, but right now the multiverse needs you for who you are: a hero."

"A hero? That's a laugh. There is no such thing."

"Then perhaps you need to talk to Joseph Torrus."

"Sunset Shadow? He's a maniac."

"You obviously didn't pay enough to what Torrus did: he brought peace and happiness to the dimension."

"There was enough peace, he was just a reminder of the horrors I've fought over my life. Do you know of Jahi?"

"The she-demon of the satanic prison? Yes. She was present in the first heaven-hell war."

"I killed her. With my bare hands." At that moment, Samuel's voice broke and he buried his head in his hands again.

Michael sighed. "I understand that you've gone through so much, but you need to find it within yourself to go out once more. I too have fought monstrosities. In the first heaven-hell war, I was the one who vanquished the Grand Devil, but that doesn't matter now. You need to return to the My Little Pony dimension once more. Heaven needs you to be there right now."

"Heaven needs me there? Why?"

"The Paradox has his plan, we have ours. Now it is just a matter of time to see who is smarter: Us, or the Paradox and his Brotherhood. Go now, I will join you soon."

"You're coming with me?"

"Wherever Joseph Torrus shows up, something important seems to happen in close proximity. He is incredibly important to this multiverse, and I have been instructed to accompany him for whatever is left of his journey."

"I… I think I understand. But I don't want to do it. I don't want to return. I hate everyone."

"You need to."

Samuel Dellor sighed snuffed out the ball of caustic material he was toying with. He then got up and opened a portal. He glanced back to Michael as he shifted into his pony form: Yellow coat, ragged dark green mane, pale blue eyes, short and skinny, a film-burned infinity cutie mark.

He trotted through the portal and it closed behind him. Michael stared at the spot where the portal had been a moment before and shook his head sadly. Their plan was now in motion; it was time for the Paradox to pay for killing Miranda.

* * *

_Dimension: My Little Pony_

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Ponyville_

_Time: A month after the death of Miranda, 1005 years after the defeat of Nightmare Moon_

"How the hell am I supposed to help Cadence explain to Shining Armor that she had been captured and been replaced with an impostor?! It's been one month now and Shining Armor still is really confused!" said Sunset with frustration in his voice.

"Look, Sunset," sighed Flaming Star, "Normally I would love to help you brainstorm out a problem, but right now, if I move, Rarity will have my head. She's been working on my suit for days now."

"That's right, the wedding… Anyway, I am very happy for you, but Equestria is still in an absolute state of confusion. I mean, we have no idea how many of those Elite Phasetroopers have been taking guises of important ponies. I even heard Prince Blue Blood accusing Fancy Pants of being one! And heaven knows the trouble Shadow Scepter and Corona Oscura are going through right now!"

"Well, I suppose we've reached an impasse then. If I go off now and help you, you'll be happy, but then Rarity will have me executed at dawn. If I stay here, she'll be happy and I'll live. I don't really know, I want to be alive for my wedding."

Sunset sighed and then chuckled. "Okay, okay, you've got me there. I remember when the same happened to me. You stay here, I'll continue to see what I can do to help out. However, the moment you're done, come and find me. I will be meeting with the Brothers in Arms corps. And please do hurry, they will be leaving soon."

"Wait, what!?" exclaimed Flaming Star, who turned his head ever so slightly to glance at Sunset.

"I HOPE YOU'RE NOT MOVING IN THERE FLAMING STAR!" exclaimed Rarity from the other room. Immediately both he and Sunset froze.

"What?" said Flaming Star in a quieter voice, "What do you mean they're leaving?"

"They made their decision this morning: they're going to return to their base in the Looking For Group dimension so they can begin their operations against the demons and the Paradox."

"Huh, that sounds like a tall order."

"I suppose so, but Daniel seems fairly confident. Anyways, I'm out. Talk to you later."

With that, Sunset trotted out of Flaming Star's house and back to his house next door.

Flaming Star pulled a face as Rarity trotted in with a whole pile of different measuring devices and said, "Well, now that I've gotten these, I can begin!"

Sunset shook his head as he heard an audible groan from inside Flaming Star's house and chuckled as he entered his house and closed the door. He went to the living room where Franklin was sitting, talking to Daniel who had stuck his head through the window.

"So, Sunset, do we have any definite plans yet?" said Franklin to Sunset as he entered the room.

Sunset shook his head. "I'm not sure. We really need more information, and a lot of it. Twilight, Flaming Star, Princess Celestia, and I have spent hours going over the tree of Harmony, and we haven't begun to figure out how it works, or how its controls work."

"Well then, why don't we just destroy it? Kill it with fire!" exclaimed Franklin.

Sunset shook his head vigorously. "We can't 'kill it with fire' either, Franklin," he said, "The thing has become tied to this dimension. If we destroy it, there is a good chance that this planet, and probably the whole universe, will collapse upon itself."

"So, the Paradox created an un-destroyable weapon, clever," said Daniel.

"Technically it IS destroyable, it's just that countless innocents will die if we do," sighed Franklin. Every time he said the word 'innocents,' his mind flashbacked to Miranda's death, something that pained him a lot each time.

"Could we evacuate everyone from this dimension and then bring it down?" suggested Daniel.

Sunset shook his head vigorously again. "That wouldn't work. Over 7 billion ponies, dragons, buffalo, donkeys, griffons, and who knows what else live here. We could never get them all out. And even if we did, what dimension in their right mind would except that many refugees? And would anyone be safe even if they did? No, we have to find another way."

"Could we destroy a different harmony unit?" asked Franklin.

"Yes… that might work!" exclaimed Daniel, "if we're lucky, there might be another dimension that isn't as secure or heavily populated."

"Or filled with loved ones," added Sunset. He then nodded, "You guys have a point."

"So," said Franklin, leaning in close, "What are the other three dimensions that have harmony units? Flaming Star planted one, right? Do you know where it is?"

Suddenly Flaming Star himself trotted in, looking a little flustered. A common reaction for those ponies who had to go through the clothes-making process with Rarity.

"What? Who? Do I know where what is?" he asked, shaking his head as if trying to clear it.

"The other harmony units, do you know where the other two are? The database spoke of the units, but I can't find orange juice on the locations of any of them. We only know that one is here because we discovered it," explained Franklin.

Flaming Star nodded slowly. "I rarely spoke of mine… but yes, I know where it is."

The group leaned in close.

"It's in the Winnie the Pooh dimension," Flaming Star explained, "I chose that place because it was sparsely inhabited, calm, and tranquil. The creatures living there deserved a peaceful life."

"Sparsely inhabited, you say?" said Franklin, stroking his chin, "Could we, perchance, blow up the harmony unit there?"

"No way," said Flaming Star, "The inhabitants there are too innocent. They wouldn't survive outside their bubble; I won't let you do it."

"A lot of people are going to do if we don't," replied Daniel.

"And if we do, we'll still be murderers. Cold, heartless murderers. We aren't gods, we cannot force those innocents outside of their home," said Flaming Star evenly.

"And what if we let them live?" continued Daniel, "If we let them live, everyone else, including them will die anyway. We have no right to deny the chance for countless lives to live by not destroying that harmony unit."

"Woooaaahhh… slow down there guys," said Sunset, "Let's not start this again. Anyways, we have no idea what will happen if we disable the other harmony units. There is a chance that they would continue to function. The real issue is this dimension's harmony unit, the control."

"We really need more information," agreed Flaming Star, giving Daniel a warning glance.

"Yeah, information we don't have, and might never get," retorted Franklin.

"Well, where is the third harmony unit, then, Flaming Star?" said Sunset.

Flaming Star opened his mouth, and then closed it again. Then he opened it again, and then closed it again. He blinked. "Um… I have no idea."

Franklin facepalmed. "What do you mean by, 'I have no idea?' What of the guy who placed that harmony unit? Did he say anything about its whereabouts? A hint maybe? An innuendo? Something?"

Flaming Star thought about it for a moment, then shook his head slowly.

"Um… no…" he said, "The guy who placed the third harmony unit, the Crystal of Harmony, was named Gagan Enosson. He was the brother of Dathan Enosson, or as we know him, Regal Crescent. He was an eccentric person. He came regularly to the meeting place where we gathered to discuss the harmony units, but never said anything. Then, the day after we had all confirmed we had chosen a location and placed our respective harmony units, he disappeared without a word. Dathan searched for him for at least a century, but eventually gave up hope. According to the Paradox, the unit was most certainly placed, but Gagan simply had vanished after his task was done."

"Well… that's… interesting," said Franklin slowly, "Is there a way we can find out where he put it?"

Flaming Star thought hard and long. A full ten minutes of silence passed before Flaming Star looked up.

He sighed. "This may sound outrageous," he explained, almost apologetically, "But I think there may be only one way to find the location."

"Outrageous or not, we have no choice, what is it?" replied Daniel briskly.

"You guys need to find the Bookkeeper… You will have to find Finnian Jones," said Flaming Star slowly.

Franklin, for the first time in a month, burst out laughing. However, it really didn't count much as a laugh, because it was somewhat derisive.

"Very funny," he said, "Everyone ever knows that Finnian Jones doesn't exist."

"I hate to agree with Franklin," said Daniel, "But I believe he's right. There is no such person as Finnian Jones. The Paradox himself said that person didn't exist when Bastian Junior Bux approached him about it."

"No, he's real," persisted Flaming Star, "He is as real as you and me. I know, I met him once."

Sunset, who had kept quiet up to this point, then said, "Waitwaitwaitwaitwait… You actually MET the Bookkeeper?"

Flaming Star nodded. "Only once, and it was only for a couple of minutes. It was in a small bookshop somewhere in Iowa in Earth Prime, 1998 A.D."

"I don't know… if the Paradox said he didn't exist, then I really think he didn't exist," said Franklin.

"The Paradox was lying," snapped Flaming Star. He then sighed and said, in gentler tones, "Look, this is really our only shot at finding a way to stop the Paradox's plan. What you guys need to do now is go off and find as many good travelers as you can. Now that we know that our personal traveler databases have been tampered with by someone, probably the Paradox, we know there is a good chance that there are plenty of other dimensional travelers out there who think they're the only good guys alive. You need to seek them out. Assemble them, and ask them if they know of Finnian Jones's whereabouts. While you are all out doing that, Sunset and I will be trying to figure out what the Paradox's next moves are, and if there is a way to disable the harmony units without destroying them."

"Well, it sounds like we have the easy part, because I know the Paradox is a WHOLE lot smarter than the lot of us put together," said Franklin, getting up, "Anyways, I suppose we should be off as soon as possible. I hate goodbyes. Where is Night Shade?"

"I'm here," came a voice. They turned around to see Night Shade, followed by Scootaloo and her parents.

"Oh, um, hi Scootaloo," said Daniel, "Are these your parents?"

Scootaloo nodded and gave Daniel a huge smile, "Yep. What are you guys doing?"

"Well…" said Franklin, looking a little uncomfortable, "We're about to leave the dimension."

Daniel nodded and turned to Night Shade. "Night Shade," he said, "We need to go. Flaming Star believes that Finnian Jones, the Bookkeeper, exists, and he wants us to assemble all the good travelers left to find him."

"Brothers in Arms unite, eh?" said Franklin.

He then turned to Daniel and was about to remark about them leaving after lunch when Night Shade said, "I'm not going."

Franklin froze, he then slowly turned around. "What?" he said incredulously.

Night Shade sighed. "I'm not going with you guys," he repeated slowly.

Daniel shook his head. "What do you mean by that?" he asked, "What are you doing?"

"I've been adopted… By Scootaloo and her family," he said.

"That… that doesn't make any sense," said Franklin, his face looking pained.

"You were a powerful part of our team, Night Shade," said Daniel, "How many battles have we won because of you? Hundreds?"

"That's the reason why I don't want to go with you guys," said Night Shade, "No more fighting."

Franklin blanched as if the phrase "no more fighting" was something of a curse. "What?" was all he managed to say.

"I'm an 11-year-old for heaven's sake!" exclaimed Night Shade, his face distraught, "I am a child! I shouldn't have done a hundredth of any of the things I've done! But you know what? It's over, I'm through. I am going to settle down here, with ponies who love me, and friends who love me. I am going to lead a normal life, away from war and death. All I want now is… is a family."

He then glanced at Scootaloo and her family. Night Shade's new mother gave him a kiss on the cheek.

Daniel sighed, "I understand. I guess this is goodbye then, Night Shade."

Night Shade nodded, his eyes tearing up a bit. "Goodbye, Daniel… Goodbye Franklin."

Franklin, who had originally looked a tad bit shocked, smiled gently. He got down on one knee and gave the black Pegasus a tight hug. "Take care, kiddo, Ponyville is a big place."

"YOU guys are the ones who need to be careful," said Night Shade with a chuckle.

Daniel simply looked at Night Shade with kindness radiating from his eyes. "Goodbye Night Shade. We will miss you, but rest assured: we will be back to visit one day."

Night Shade smiled. He let go of Franklin and took a step back. Night Shade's new father placed a hoof on his shoulder, and Scootaloo hugged Night Shade.

Daniel pulled his head out of the window and Franklin climbed through. Then Daniel opened a portal to their safe house in the Looking For Group dimension and stepped through. The portal closed and they were gone.

Night Shade hugged his new family tightly as he fought down his emotions.

Flaming Star smiled at the sight. "And I'm getting married!" he sighed, almost dreamily.

Sunset gave the firstborn a side-long glance and chuckled.

"Well," Sunset said, "I'm going to my backyard to garden, you might as well go off and do whatever it is the firstborn does."

"I'm going to find Twilight, tell her I love her, and give her a huge kiss," replied Flaming Star as he trotted outside his house after Night Shade and his family.

"I think I'll check the garden, then the chickens…" muttered Sunset to himself as he went into the spacious backyard with Angel the bunny on his back, "Then I think I will pay Night Shade a visit. It's nice to see a kid like him being able to enjoy life without having to worry about being slaughtered by demons."

He was about to begin to adjust a couple of the birdhouses when a crackling noise echoed from behind him. A portal was opening, and it sure as hell wasn't Daniel's or Franklin's portal.

Charging up a hoof with plasma, Sunset whirled to face the portal. The sight he saw caused him to stumble backwards, fall over, and discharge the blast harmlessly into the sky: A being who looked just like the Paradox was exiting the portal in front of him. He was a little taller than the Paradox, but was a little less broad. He too wore white body armor with a masked helmet like the Paradox when he had shifted out of his light-radiating form. His visor was that of an open flame, glowing red. Bands of red and purple ran down his arms.

"Who… who are you?" stuttered Sunset, not able to compose himself.

"Who, me? Oh… I'm Doxia, or as Miranda called me, the Light Man. Pleased to meet you, kiddo," said the being cheerfully. He helped Sunset to all fours. He then bowed with a flourish.

"Are you part of the Paradox's brotherhood?" asked Sunset warily as he finally got a hold of his emotions.

"Was," corrected Doxia, "I'm what you call a defector really. You know how Twilight and the rest of those ponies were freed? That was me."

Sunset stuttered. He opened his mouth, but all he managed to say was, "Why?"

Doxia chuckled. "Why? Because the Paradox and his brotherhood, the Enigma Empire, are absolute lunatics. They think they can play God and kill everyone because they believe it is the right thing to do. Well, I thought otherwise. We are not all pawns waiting to die at a word."

"Then you were the one who gave me the coordinates to the portal-blocking technology! You were the one who comforted Miranda and gave her all that information!"

"I was. Her mind was very unstable, and made it easy for me to enter it. I saw it as the only way to inconspicuously talk to you guys. All forms of instantaneous travel have been monitored by the Enigma Empire since the plan went into motion eight thousand years ago."

"Wow… Just… Wow…"

"I know right? Well, anyways, I am going to chill here a bit. The Enigma Empire is out for my head as of yet, but they cannot follow me here. This place is too important to their plan... And besides, they all think I'm in the Star Trek dimension, pretending to be part of the Q Continuum."

"That's right… the plan. Could you… could you tell me about it?"

"Tell you about it? Why heck yes! I was the right hand man of the Paradox! I know every bit. Tell you what, you get me a glass of lemonade, and I will tell you everything."

"Okay…"

"Alrighty!"

* * *

**Note: Where were all my immediate reviews? Was "Pyrrhic Victory" THAT anticlimactic? Just kidding. Anyways, I wanted to let you guys know that I will be releasing the guide probably on Monday, if not Friday. Now hit me with some feedback! Oh, and what do you guys think of Samuel?**


	47. Chapter 47 - Secrets and Lemonade

**Note: Sorry for this being posted slightly late, I had lots of important things to do. I apologize to all you "Dimensional Traveler battle" fans, but I can't bring in any awesome fighting until the stage is properly set. Anyways...**

* * *

_Dimension: My Little Pony_

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Fluttershy and Sunset's house_

_Time: A month after the death of Miranda_

Doxia picked up the lemonade and shook it. He then lifted it into the air and poured the whole thing over his helmet. The liquid ran down off his helmet and onto the ground.

Doxia then sat back in a lawn chair as he sighed, "Ahhhh… that hit the spot."

Sunset looked at Doxia and shook his head. "Are… are you okay?" he asked.

Doxia waved a hand off in a randomly picked direction. "Sure am! Why do you ask?"

"Well… If you don't mind me saying, you are acting quite unusual."

"I suppose that's just a reaction to Dimensional-Lord-itis."

"Dimensional what?"

"Never mind. That's what we are called: Dimensional Lords."

"Oh. Anyway, why do you act this way?"

"Well, picture it like this: You cannot die, you could destroy a whole galaxy without any effort, and you know that in no way could anyone every kill you. How would you act after knowing this for about a trillion years?"

"Wow… I mean, I never thought about it that way. Are you really that old?"

Doxia scratched the back of his helmet and nodded. "Yep, one trillion and counting. Of course, not all of us act this way. Paradox, our leader, just stopped talking to people. He says less and less now. Pictor became violent, convinced that action and death was the only thing that could fill his life with purpose. Meadolax simply explores every possible location in creation. And me… well, I just act like this."

Sunset shook his head. The age and power of these Dimensional Lords was unfathomable. "Wow… Anyway, could you tell me about this plan that has demons screaming in horror, and whole countries falling apart?"

"Ahhhh yes. I think I will start from the beginning. You see, this isn't the only multiverse. Oh, no, there are three: the Heaven multiverse, the Earth multiverse, and the Infernal Realm. The Earth multiverse is where this dimension exists. Anyways, my brotherhood and I were once part of one of three massive empires that ruled the Earth multiverse. We were always arguing and always warring with each other. After about five hundred billion years of discontent, a massive evil from the Infernal Realm rose to snuff out all life in the Earth multiverse. This force was called the Maelstrom, the most powerful force of evil devised by the Grand Devil. In the face of this new crisis, the three empires joined together to form the Enigma Empire. We fought back against the Maelstrom for seventy billion years. Neither side gained an advantage, and hundreds of dimensions were destroyed. Finally I devised a plan that swayed the battle in our favor, and finally, in one massive effort, we killed the Maelstrom and its vast armies. With this war over, the three empires chose to stay together as the Enigma Empire. After two hundred billion years of peace, Dimensional Lords began to leave the empire. They gave up their powers so that they could live their lives in peace in their respective homelands. Finally, the Great Leader left to live his life out far away, and gave his power to his right hand man. This man was named the Paradox. The Paradox led us from then on out. He was originally a good leader, and he was a genius. He managed to create a clone army of shape-shifting, power adapting creatures that we eventually called Phasetroopers. They were many, and they were completely loyal to us. They were charged with special energies, which is why the traveler database goes all haywire around them. This is why you guys thought they were from another multiverse. Things were good for a long time. However, over those eons, the Paradox became agitated.

"He seemed convinced that despite the defeat of the Maelstrom, evil still consumed the multiverse. Demons from the Infernal Realm were crawling over every nook and cranny, and the Heaven multiverse had ceased contact with the Enigma Empire. We were alone. Thus the Paradox began to send Dimensional Lords out to combat demons. It was easy for us to kill demons, we have more power in a pinkie then they have in a whole demonic army, but we were so few now. Finally the Paradox recalled us all and we fortified ourselves in the phantom dimension of Amethyst, somewhere that no one could ever reach. After we did that, the Paradox began to plan for a way to cleanse the dimension of evil, but not just demons, he wanted every scrap of evil to be gone. He wanted 'his' multiverse to be as spotless as the Heaven multiverse. He then spent millions of years searching for a solution. He went through each individual dimension, searching for some good that could help him overcome the evil that was predominate in the multiverse… all he found was more evil.

"Thus, he retracted to the Amethyst dimension. He was in a frenzied state, he couldn't take the knowledge that for every good act that he did, more evil would simply rise up. For every good person in the multiverse, there were thousands of evil creatures trying to murder, terrorize, and torture. That realization broke him, and he never recovered. In this broken state, he came up with the final solution to his problem: kill everything. He would bring down the Earth multiverse, the Infernal Realm, and the Heaven multiverse. The Amethyst dimension would be the only last surviving dimension in existence, only then could he have the 'good and peace' that he so craved. Thus he spent the next two hundred billion years locked away in his chambers, planning and plotting. The rest of us simply waited, unsure of what to do about him. Once and a while we would venture out to explore, or to help a few choice people in need, but that was pretty much it. Then, eight thousand years ago, the Paradox exited his room, declaring that he had a solution.

"His plan was elaborate, and incredibly brilliant. However, he only discussed the complete plans to me and his enforcer Pictor the executioner. This was the plan… The Paradox, in his time of isolation, had created three special devices: A crystal, a book, and a tree. These devices contained a special material called dimensional energy, something so powerful that, if used incorrectly, it could bring down a whole multiverse. The Paradox fully intended to misuse this energy, but he knew that if the angels of the celestial heavens got wind of the plan, they most assuredly would take him out. He needed to be covert, but he couldn't just hide these devices anywhere, he needed safe and secluded places. However, he couldn't search for these places himself, because he knew that the demons, and most probably the angels, were watching his every move.

"Thus the Paradox decided he would venture out to Earth Prime and select a few choice humans. These selections would be given incredible amounts of power, almost likening to a Dimensional Lord. These people would travel throughout the dimensions to search for three pure dimensions where the Paradox would be positive no one would ever attack or invade. When these places were found, the Paradox would command them to place the devices of mass-destruction by telling them that these devices would protect these dimensions from all evil. As soon as this happened, the Paradox would begin to recruit more of these people, and command them to protect the devices. However, he made sure no one really investigated the power of these devices by bringing the focus onto killing demons, which he claimed was the 'ultimate evil that must be snuffed out.' As this would transpire, he would watch the demons and figure out which demons were treacherous enough or scared enough that he could sway them to his side. When he decided on these choice demons, he would visit them through visions, posing as the hideous Dark King. He would tell them he was a rival to the Grand Devil, and that he would bring about a glorious war that would end all good, versus the silly little plots that their former leader had set out. These demons would comply with his wishes, or go insane, and would work for him. Their job would feed the hive mind of the Infernal Realm false information to keep the Grand Devil off his scent, and keep the demons from gaining any advantages during their wars against the special people, the dimensional travelers. Also, while this would be happening, the Paradox would send the more unknowing of his brotherhood to represent him to the Heaven multiverse. They would explain to the angels that he was just trying to act as a police force. Since he was sending the brotherhood members who knew nothing of the real plan, they were convinced they were telling the whole truth, so no deception was discovered there. Thus both the Heaven multiverse and the Infernal Realm would be kept off his scent.

"Finally, the last stages of the plan would go into action. He would initiate anarchy within the ranks of the guardians that he had created by scrambling their traveler's databases and feeding lies to them. As they fought with the demons and each other, they would forget their purpose: protecting the innocents. With them distracted, he could easily wipe clean the harmony dimensions as he saw fit using his demon connections. With these choice dimensions clean, he could, without any trouble, activate the harmony devices and… poof… all life in the Earth multiverse would cease to exist. This plan worked flawlessly, with a few bumps along the way. The Paradox failed to cleanse the Harmony unit multiverses because I convinced the him that the angels were still suspicious of him. So, instead, he convinced Legion to defect to his side, and got him to start the activation sequence in the Harmony tree for him. That is why Legion was flickering when you were fighting him. At moments in time you guys were just fighting a life-like holograph of him, while the real Legion set up the Harmony tree. You guys killed him though, but Legion had now become so dedicated to the cause that he lied to the Grand Devil so that the Paradox could continue his plan unopposed. Thanks to Legion, the demon of Terrible Trivium, and several other double-agents everywhere, the plan almost continued to work without a hitch afterward... until I realized how truly evil the plan was and completely defected. My meddling combined with you and your friend's bravery stalled his plan effectively."

Sunset's head nearly exploded. The plan was absolutely brilliant… brilliant and evil. His moment of awe and horror was then replaced by a feeling of depression. The only reason they existed was because the Paradox needed them for a small little cog in a massive war machine of death… they were nothing but tools. Then Sunset's eyes hardened… he wouldn't let this stop him. They had stopped the Paradox once, they could do it again; this time for good.

He looked at Doxia and said, "Do you know of how to shut off the harmony units?"

Doxia stroked his chin as he poured another glass of lemonade on his head nonchalantly. "I believe so, but it will be difficult."

Hope sprung up in Sunset's chest as Doxia said this. "What is it?" he asked with alacrity.

"The harmony units are each made for a special purpose. The Tree of Harmony is designed to be the control. The Book of Harmony is designed to be the focus point. The Crystal of Harmony is designed to be the outlet. Being the energy lattice outlet, the Crystal of Harmony is the weakest and the most sensitive of the three devices, and thus the easiest to disable. Since it is the one that would release the final blast, the Paradox could not have it integrate fully into its host's dimension's timeline. This would allow a person, theoretically, to destroy it without the entire dimension collapsing upon his head."

Sunset grimaced. The Crystal of Harmony was the one harmony unit that they could not find. "Do you, perhaps, know where the Crystal of Harmony is?" asked Sunset hopefully.

Doxia stretched. "Nope," he said, "It was brilliantly hidden. From what I've gleaned during my time of snooping about just before I defected, the Paradox had worried that one of his brothers, like me, would defect someday and disable the Crystal of Harmony. If that unit was destroyed, his whole plan would be ruined. Thus, inconspicuously, he gave Gagan Enosson a particular job to find the most secluded dimension and hide the Crystal where no one, not even his Dathan Enosson, could find it. The moment he did that… the Paradox killed him. The secret died with him. The same time that all happened, the Paradox sent everyone in the Enigma Empire, including me, to perform certain menial tasks across the multiverse. Thus… the location of the third harmony unit was safe… from EVERYONE."

Sunset sighed in despair. "What are we going to do now?" he groaned, "Is it possible that we could just go ahead and destroy the Book of Harmony? The dimension may be inhabited, but... But..." Sunset buried his head in his hoofs.

"Sorry, that won't work either," said Doxia, almost apologetically, "the harmony book is only the focus point, the system will continue to function even if you destroy that unit."

Sunset was about to give up in despair.

Then Doxia chuckled. "Don't give up, my little pony," he snorted, "Not all is lost. I had already began to work against the Paradox as this happened, so I immediately began work to find a way to locate the Crystal of Harmony so that I might one day disable it. To find the location, I decided I would create a dimensional traveler of my own who would be true of heart. This traveler would spend out his days searching for the location. I spent at least a thousand years searching for the right person… but I eventually found him. He was a sprightly young fellow, with a strong will and a loving heart. His name is Finnian Jones."

Sunset's mouth dropped open. "YOU are the one who gave Finnian Jones power?"

Doxia nodded. "I'm surprised you know of him, Sunset. Since I made him a dimensional traveler and not the Paradox, he never showed up on the traveler's database. But yes, I gave him powers, and for the last seven thousand years he has searched Earth Prime and beyond for the location of the Crystal of Harmony. Unfortunately, soon after I gave Finnian Jones his powers, the Paradox became suspicious of me… and I was forced to sever all connections with my dimensional traveler. He then disappeared off my radar; I am actually not sure where he is right now. I don't even know if he has found the location. A tragedy, don't you think?"

Doxia said the last phrase if it wasn't much of a tragedy at all, but Sunset wasn't really paying attention anymore: his mental gears had begun to turn.

"Soooo… do you have any idea of where Finnian Jones might be?" asked Sunset.

Doxia shook his head. "Nope, to keep my profile low, I had to completely cut all connections, as I said. Now, now, don't lose heart kiddo! I actually know the being that might! Jetfire, that kooky old transformer dimensional traveler. He probably does. Just before I left, Jetfire and Finnian Jones had become the best of friends, so I figure that Jetfire might at least know of Finnian Jones's possible whereabouts."

Sunset sighed again. "Isn't Jetfire dead? Didn't he accidentally get himself killed during a battle or something in his home dimension?"

Doxia laughed. "I don't think so. Remember: the traveler's database has been screwed up thanks to the Paradox. Nothing you see on there is really true. I have a strong feeling he's alive. He most probably is in the Grand Theft Auto dimension, or the Looking Glass Wars dimension."

Sunset nodded his head decisively. "Have you had enough lemonade?" he asked.

Doxia stood up and said, "Sure! Where are we going?"

Sunset turned to trot into Ponyville. "We're going to talk to Abimael 'James' Sethson. We're going to tell him what you told me, and we're going to send Daniel Dragoon the information on Jetfire. I think things might turn out alright after all."

* * *

**Note: Yes, Doxia is REALLY old and REALLY powerful. I understand that such an age is pretty much unfathomable, but these beings are incredibly awesome. Does anyone want me to add a section on these guys in the guide? Oh, speaking of the guide, I will be releasing it at 4:00 PDT Friday in place of a chapter, so keep a look-out for it! However, if I cannot reach that deadline, then I will replace that event with just posting a new chapter (which I have already prepared).**


	48. Chapter 48 - A Moment of Silence

**Note: I just wanted to let you guys know that this chapter is a little bit pointless. You see, I was reading some other people's fanfiction when I realized that they seemed to have more cute scenes than my story as a whole. Then it hit me... Where had all my cute love scenes gone? I mean, sure, it was cute when Fluttershy and Sunset spent their first night together and such, but that was it. So, then I said to myself, "Screw this, I need more cute scenes." Thus I cut out an hour of my day to write a whole chapter devoted to cuteness. If you guys aren't into this stuff, then just wait for the next chapter when all the REAL stuff starts happening, if not... well, then picture this as a moment of quiet reflection on love and enjoy!**

* * *

_Dimension: My Little Pony_

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Fluttershy and Sunset's house_

_Time: A month after the death of Miranda_

Sunset was about to trot into his house so that he could exit through the front door when Doxia stopped him with an arm.

"What?" said Sunset.

"Where's Fluttershy?" asked Doxia, looking around.

"I think she's at the park with Starlight Amber."

Doxia nodded. Then he said, "You go to her. Spend time with her. I will fix things up."

Sunset cocked his head to one side, slightly bemused. "What do you mean?"

Doxia shook his head and chuckled. "What I mean is go to Fluttershy and spend some time with her. Pick some flowers, go for a trot, frolic in the sun. Do it now."

Sunset shook his head incredulously but complied. He turned his back on Doxia and began searching through his garden, meticulously scrutinizing each bed of flowers for the perfect bouquet. After a couple of minutes, he had the perfect set. He turned around to ask for Doxia opinion on the flowers, but the being was gone. Chuckling, he trotted off to find Fluttershy.

She was sitting on a park bench with Starlight, who was asleep, talking to some birds.

"Oh, hello Sunset!" she said as Sunset approached her, "What are you doing here? I thought you had some very important things to do."

"They are important," replied Sunset, "But they can wait."

He sat down next to her and handed her flowers. She breathed them in deeply as she exclaimed, "Oh, Sunset, these are wonderful. Are they for me?"

Sunset smiled and said, "For you and only you."

Sighing happily, Fluttershy leaned her head against Sunset's shoulder and murmured, "I've missed these."

Sunset closed his eyes as he felt the sunlight sink into his skin. "I've missed these too."

The two stayed like this for a good thirty minutes, enjoying the sunlight, as Fluttershy would say. Then Sunset opened his eyes and said, "Do you want to go for a trot?"

Fluttershy blinked. "Where?"

"Oh, around the meadows, maybe we could talk to some of the animals. Angel is staying with some friends there, is he not?"

Fluttershy nodded, "He is. That would be a wonderful idea!"

Sunset began to use magic to push Starlight's stroller forward. Fluttershy then got up and followed it. Sunset spread a wing over her back and the two trotted off to the meadow, side-by-side.

"What a wonderful day for a picnic," sighed Fluttershy as she looked over the meadow as they entered it.

"It is. You know what? We should have a picnic. We haven't even had lunch yet," declared Sunset.

"Oh, that would be wonderful. Just you, me, Starlight, and nature."

"That WOULD be wonderful. Tell you what, I'll make the picnic. You go find the perfect spot."

"The perfect spot… Oh, I know. That one spot where we were stuck in the rain… that is the perfect spot."

With that, Sunset quickly spread his wings and flew off to the house to make the picnic, while Fluttershy and Starlight went to visit Angel. After that, the two quickly cantered to the spot where Fluttershy and Sunset's adventures began. Fluttershy settled down and began to stare off dreamily into the distance. Soon Sunset arrived with a picnic basket. Fluttershy gently cooed Starlight into wakefulness, and the three had a small lunch. Then Fluttershy and Sunset rolled onto their backs and began to look at the skies.

"What can you see?" asked Fluttershy as they looked skyward.

Sunset smiled and replied, "I see… A house… A bunny… And a Star Wars-grade medpac flexclamp from the year 10500 Before the Battle of Yavin."

Fluttershy blinked. "What?"

Sunset chuckled and said, "Oh nothing, just my nonsense-filled mind getting in my way. Ooooh! You see that one? It looks like an apple!"

Fluttershy nodded. "My, that one does look like an apple. And there… That one looks like a four-leaf clover."

"That's good luck… Something that we need right now," sighed Sunset.

Fluttershy kissed Sunset on the cheek. "We have everything we want right now. We couldn't have been luckier."

Sunset smiled at Fluttershy. "You're right, Fluttershy."

There was a pause. "Fluttershy… did I ever tell you how beautiful you are?"

Fluttershy blushed. "Over and over again Sunset," she said.

"Well, I'll add one to the stack. You are beautiful."

The two kissed. They continued to look at the sky together as the sun slowly crawled past its apex and spiraled down past the west.

"Do you want to go home?" asked Sunset as he glanced at the sky.

Fluttershy closed her eyes. "Oh no," she sighed, "I think it would be fine if we stayed here for tonight. We can sleep together under the stars."

Sunset closed his eyes dreamily as well as he said, "I can't think of anything better…"

* * *

_Dimension: My Little Pony_

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Twilight's library_

_Time: A month after the death of Miranda, 8 hours after the arrival of Doxia_

Twilight looked up from a book she was reading as a hoof rapped on her front door. Trotting downstairs, she opened it to find Flaming Star, his face obscured by a wonderful bouquet of flowers.

"Oh, these are lovely!" exclaimed Twilight, "Did you pick them for me?!"

"Better," chuckled Flaming Star, "I made them. Pulled every organic molecule together. You see that blue one? That's an Andorian Ice flower. Don't even exist here."

Twilight levitated them carefully into the air and placed them into a large vase. She looked them up and down and sighed, "This is perfect. A perfect mantelpiece."

"Absolutely exquisite, your taste leaves me in awe," chuckled Flaming Star.

There was a pause, then Flaming Star said, "Hey… do you want to do something?"

Twilight gave a little bounce of excitement. "Oh… We should! We could have a read-a-thon! We could start with the top shelves, and see how many books we can read down until the sun sets! Then we can have quizzes on our books to see who learned more!"

Flaming Star grinned. "You're on. Am I allowed to use my traveler's database?"

Twilight winked at him. "Only if you agree to read the books blindfolded."

Flaming Star rolled his eyes. "Okay, okay, very well. I still think I'm going to win."

Twilight chuckled. "Prepare for your second-ever defeat, Firstborn."

The two laughed heartily. After a moment, Flaming Star cleared his throat and said, "Okay. Soooo… Starting with section A? Maybe start with an encyclopedia?"

Twilight nodded as she levitated two thick volumes over to where they sat. They were about to dive in when Spike strolled in from helping Rarity with something.

"What are you to doing?" he asked.

"Oh, we're having a read-a-thon," exclaimed Twilight happily, "Do you want to join us?"

Spike blanched. He slowly backed up and shook his head. "Um… now that you mention it… I think I left my, um, something, back at Rarity's… Gottagobye!"

He rocketed out of the room and slammed the door.

"Oh well," laughed Flaming Star, "More books for us to read."

"Yep," chuckled Twilight, "Well… ready… set… GO!"

The two dove (figuratively) into their books and were off. As they read, they would once and a while call out interesting tidbits that they had come across.

"Oooh… Cockatrices migrate to Zebrabwe once every year!" exclaimed Twilight.

"Hmmmm," mused Flaming Star, "Dragon's eggs are supposed to be harder to break than a diamond. They say the lattice structure is sturdier because of a form of fire-magic that runs through the carbon bonds… I don't know if that's true. Can I PLLLEEEAAASSSEE double-check this using the traveler's database?"

Twilight gave him a huge smile as she levitated him a strip of cloth. "Of course you can, Sweetie! Here's a blindfold!"

Flaming Star shook his head. "No thanks, dear. I prefer to be able to read while I can see."

The two then lapsed into a moment of silent reading as they continued to look through their books.

"Ooooh… This is interesting!" declared Twilight as she continued to scan her book, "This says that waterfalls fall upwards in the some areas in the wild cloudlands over the Western Ocean! I wish I could see that for myself…"

Flaming Star gave her a side-long glance. "You know… I could take you there right now."

Twilight looked up from her book, her eyes wide. "You could?!"

Flaming Star got up and nodded. "Right now. Do you want to go?"

"WOULD I EVER?!" exclaimed Twilight as she seized Flaming Star in a tight hug, "I would LOVE to go right now!"

"So much for the read-a-thon," chuckled Flaming Star to himself as he searched the traveler's database for the location. He found it, and then opened a portal directly to the wild cloudland. Twilight and Flaming Star trotted through the opening in time and space and entered the wonderful, spacious expanse of fluffy clouds, which stretched in all directions.

"This is where most Pegasus go for safari's," explained Twilight as she looked around in awe, "I've read about this place, of course, but never been to it myself! This is so amazing!"

Twilight leaned against Flaming Star's shoulder as she continued to look around. She then gazed up at the sky and smiled, almost dreamily.

"What are you thinking?" said Flaming Star, following the direction of her gaze.

"I was just wondering how it would feel to by flying high above this expanse, watching the world unfurl below you…" sighed Twilight.

Flaming Star planted a kiss on Twilight's cheek. He then took a step back on the fluffy clouds and spread his wings wide.

"Well?" he said, "You imagined it, now let's do it!"

Twilight gave him a huge smile and spread her own wings. With powerful flaps, they took off into the sky.

"This… is… AMAZING!" yelled Twilight over the wind as they blasted through the bright blue sky.

"You're starting to sound like Rainbow Dash!" laughed Flaming Star, "All we need to do now is convert the word amazing into the word awesome!"

They continued to speed through the air. They then veered sharply upward in unison and began to climb higher, and higher, and higher. Soon they were reaching the heights where air was hard to come by, but Flaming Star simply counteracted this effect by pulling up a bubble of air around them. Twilight then smiled dreamily and tucked her wings in, she then twisted around and began to descend at incredible speeds. Quickly Flaming Star did the same and they whizzed down towards the fluffy expanse of the cloudlands together. Just before they hit the ground, Flaming Star and Twilight veered upwards again and they spiraled through the air at top speed, with the clouds below blasting away below them. Twilight smiled as she saw massive sky waterfalls, with water going up them instead of down, passing on by them. Then she began to climb high again, with Flaming Star right behind her. The two continued to perform this same routine again and again, as the sun slowly set in the west.

After a bit, Flaming Star glanced over at Twilight and yelled over the wind, "Do you want to go home?"

Twilight blinked as she thought about it for a moment, and then yelled back, "Okay!"

The slowed down and landed on the fluffy clouds. Flaming Star then looked at the setting sun and nodded, "Yes, it would be best if we got you home."

He opened a portal back to Twilight's library, and the two stepped through.

"Do you think we should finish the read-a-thon?" asked Twilight as she organized a couple of scattered books.

Flaming Star glanced out the window as the last rays of dusk disappeared over the west hills of Ponyville, "Not unless you want to pull an all-nighter."

Twilight giggled, "No, I suppose not."

Flaming Star bowed his head low to Twilight and took a step back. "I will be going now, my lovely princess," he said dramatically. He then turned around to leave.

"Wait!" said Twilight.

Flaming Star stopped from exiting the building and turned around. He looked at Twilight curiously.

Twilight blushed a deep red, and she mumbled, "Would you… would you stay with me tonight?"

Flaming Star blinked. What she had said had touched him more than anything had in his entire life. He knew Twilight, and he understood that what she had said had taken an incredibly amount of courage… and love. He then smiled and said, "I would love to."

Twilight flapped lightly over to her bed and lay down. Flaming Star, desperately wishing that there was an army of demons he could fight instead, slowly lay down next to her and closed his eyes. Twilight almost immediately fell asleep. Flaming Star could feel her body raise and lower with each sigh, and feel the warmth of her breath on his cheek. He let these feelings slowly wash away any raw emotions and worries he had, and he too soon drifted off to sleep.

* * *

**Note: Here is an important question... Who is the cuter and better couple? Sunset Shadow and Fluttershy or Flaming Star and Twilight Sparkle...? Or, dare I say, Regal Crescent and Luna?**


	49. Chapter 49 - Developments

**Note: It seems like Fluttershy and Sunset Shadow hold the winning place in cuteness! Anyways... Moving on...**

* * *

_Dimension: My Little Pony_

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: A little bit east of Fluttershy's former cottage_

_Time: A month after the death of Miranda, 8 hours after the arrival of Doxia_

"So, why am I here?" asked Night Shade as he stood a ways off from the Cutie Mark Crusaders, who were hiding in a bush. He then glanced up at the sun which was slowly beginning to set.

"You're going to help us chronicle the secret life of Diamondbeaks for the Foal Free Press!" explained Scootaloo as she pulled out a pair of binoculars.

Night Shade just said, again, "Soooo… Why am I here?"

"If we keep doing really well as reporters, maybe we'll get our cutie marks in reporting!" exclaimed Apple Bloom excitedly.

Night Shade rolled his eyes. "I already have a cutie mark."

Scootaloo poked her head out of the bush and poked his cutie mark accusingly. "Yeah, but you cheated. You shape-shifted into this form and got a cutie mark for it. Do you know what your real talent is?"

Night Shade opened his mouth, and then closed it. He blinked. "Um… I have no idea." Scootaloo winked at him.

With that, Night Shade hopped into the bush with the CMC and grabbed his own pair of binoculars. "Right," he said, "What are we going to do first?"

Slowly Sweetie Bell crawled out of the bush and moved forward. She glanced over her shoulder at her friends and motioned quickly to them to follow her. Night Shade, Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo slowly crept forward as they followed her. Suddenly the chirping of a Diamondbeak alerted the Cutie Mark Crusaders and Night Shade of its presence. They leapt into another bush and poked their heads out of it.

"Where is it?" exclaimed Apple Bloom in a whisper.

"Over there!" whispered Night Shade back, pointing with a hoof.

Everypony trained their binoculars on the area that Night Shade was pointing at. On a branch, in the distance, a Diamondbeak was perched, twittering away.

"Where's her nest?" whispered Sweetie Bell, "I can't see it!"

"It looks like the bird is gathering twigs. I think she is going to use them to repair her home. This means it must be somewhere else!" said Night Shade in hushed tones.

The Diamondbeak, when it had finished searching for and gathering up twigs, spread its wings and began to take to the air.

Scootaloo buzzed her tiny wings in excitement as she exclaimed, "Ooooh! The chase is on!"

Night Shade and the Cutie Mark Crusaders then galloped after the flying Diamondbeak as fast, and yet as quietly, as they could manage. The bird flew to the border of the Everfree forest and perched on a thick branch in one of the tallest trees.

"I can't see! Where did it go?!" whispered Apple Bloom.

Night Shade quickly scoped out a smaller tree that was slightly adjacent to the Diamondbeak's home tree.

"Here, let's climb this one. I'll help you guys up."

Using his enchanced strength, Night Shade hoisted up his sister and her friends into the lower branches. As they climb upward, he spread his wings and flapped lightly onto one of the top branches.

"You got the notepad?" said Apple Bloom to Scotaloo as they pulled out their binoculars once more.

Scotaloo nodded and pulled out a pen and notepad. The Cutie Mark Crusaders began to take notes on the behavioral attributes of their bird. Night Shade, on the other hoof, was scoping out something entierly different.

"Um, guys?" he said as he peered through his binoculars, "Did you three invite over company?"

"No way!" whispered Scootaloo back, "This is one of those totally covert operations! Black ops and stuff! Why do you ask?"

"Because Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon are on their way here. And they brought some kind of net," explained Night Shade.

"What?" exclaimed Sweetie Bell. Night Shade slapped a hoof over her mouth.

"Quiet every pony!" he said in hushed tones. "I think I can hear what they're saying."

The group quieted down as Night Shade leaned through the branches and listened closely to what they were saying.

"So, why are we doing this?" asked Silver Spoon as she and Diamond Tiara trotted towards them.

"Oh, a Diamondbeak was spotted over here. If we can steal an egg from it and hatch it ourselves, I could have one of the rarest birds for a PET!" replied Diamond Tiara haughtily.

"You mean WE," corrected Silver Spoon.

"Well? Do you know which tree it is?" interjected Diamond Tiara.

"That tree right there," replied to Silver Spoon, pointing to the tree where the Cutie Mark Crusaders were inspecting not moments before, the home of the Diamondbeak.

"Excellent. Go fetch my butler with the ladder. We can scare off the mother and grab and egg before anypony knows what is happening!" declared Diamond Tiara.

Night Shade pulled himself back into the protection of the branches in the tree he was sitting in and turned to the CMC.

"This isn't good," he said to Scotaloo, Sweetie Bell, and Apple Bloom, "Those two plan to steal one of the Diamondbeaks eggs so they can raise it as a pet!"

"What?! They can't do that!" exclaimed Sweetie Bell indignantly, "This is a wildlife… um… safe place or something!"

"A wildlife reserve, you mean. However, technically it isn't. Nevertheless, we should protect the mother and her babies at all costs!" declared Night Shade.

Scootaloo looked at her big brother with Bambi eyes. Night Shade blinked at her, then realized what she was trying to imply. "No, Scootaloo," he said, "I'm NOT going to use my powers like that. They're annoying foals, not demons."

"They look like monsters if you squint your eyes though!" exclaimed Scootaloo, "Look!"

Night Shade rolled his eyes and said, "Nope. No. However, here is what I will do…"

Diamond Tiara tapped a hoof against the ground impatiently as she waited for Silver Spoon to return with her butler. She was about to comment to no pony in particular that this was taking too long when suddenly the trees she was guarding rustled. She blinked at them. Abruptly, a Diamondbeak burst forth, chirping loudly. It then commenced to attack Diamond Tiara with pecks to her head.

Squealing loudly, the little pony began to run in circles. She then dashed off in the direction of where Silver Spoon had trotted off. She soon caught up with her compatriot and yelled, "Rogue Diamondbeak! Run!"

The two foals, screaming loudly, began to run from the enraged Diamondbeak. They rounded a corner and dove into a bush. The Diamondbeak, however, veered off and flew away and disappeared into a grove of trees. A moment later, the bird shimmered, and shape shifted into a pony. It was Night Shade. Chuckling to himself, he trotted off to find the Cutie Mark Crusaders.

He found them with still sitting in the tree.

"Ironic that Diamondbeaks are considered peaceful creatures," chuckled Night Shade as he trotted up to the tree to help the CMC down, "I don't think Diamond Tiara or Silver Spoon will be thinking about venturing this way for a while now."

The Cutie Mark Crusaders and Night Shade all laughed. The four trotted away as their laughter slowly dissolved into the dusky air as the sun's last rays dissipated into darkness.

* * *

_Dimension: My Little Pony_

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: The border of Ponyville_

_Time: A month after the death of Miranda, 8 hours after the arrival of Doxia_

Samuel pressed his ears against his skull as he tentatively began to enter Ponyville. He hadn't actually been here himself before – he had hardly ever left his house in Fillydelphia – and everything in the town made him extremely nervous.

He stopped just as he was about to put a hoof into the town and began to reconsider his options.

"Archangel Michael hadn't SPECIFICALLY told me to go to Ponyville," he reasoned, "He just told me to go back to the My Little Pony dimension. Maybe I should just go home to Fillydelphia and stay in my cozy house. Perhaps I can just stay there for the rest of my absurdly long life."

Samuel groaned and sat down. He grimaced. That wasn't what he wanted either. All his house and Fillydelphia would do now would be to remind him of his friend Tiffany, who had been slaughtered. Too many bad memories. But then again… almost everything represented a bad memory now. A small street would remind him of his younger days, before the Paradox recruited him. The days in which he had spent alone on the streets of Chicago in the Earth Prime dimension. A setting sun would remind him of his days as a traveler, when he had been forced to destroy a star to kill an army of demons... It coincidentally killed a large amount of innocents too. Memories, the bane of his existence… they constantly plagued him, and he felt like he could never rub out his past, no matter what he did.

Samuel shook his head in an attempt to clear it. He then got up onto all fours and put a hoof into Ponyville. Immediately he was pounced upon by Pinkie Pie.

"Hey! A new pony! IknowthatbecauseIknoweveryponyinponyvilleandsinceIdon'tknowyouthatmustmeanyou'renew! Hello! I'm Pinkie Pie! Who are you?"

Samuel stumbled backwards as he gasped, "What the- How did you find me so fast?! I literally entered town in the most discreet way possible!"

Pinkie laughed, "Oh, nothing ever gets by me here. Soooooo… Are you moving here? Are staying? Huh? Huh? HUH?"

Samuel shook his head as he began to inch away. "Um… no. In fact… I was leaving… right… now…"

He quickly whirled straight around and was about to dash off in the opposite direction when he found Pinkie Pie blocking his path. He looked behind him in a flustered state. Had she teleported or something?

"Um," he stuttered, "Are you… Pinkie Pie?"

Pinkie Pie nodded vigorously as she hopped up and down. "Yes! I am! How did you know?"

"Well," replied Samuel, trying desperately to find a way around the crazy pink party pony, "You guys are the Harmony Bearers. You are famous from here to Fillydelphia and beyond."

"Oooooh! Are you from Fillydelphia?"

"I was. I really don't have a home now."

"What do you mean? Do you need a place to stay? You could stay with me! At Sugar Cube Corner!"

"Um… no. That's very kind. But I think it would be safer if I found some remote Chimera's den in the Everfree forest to stay in."

"Huh? What? Never mind! You can't go yet! We need to throw you a Welcome-to-Ponyville PARTY!"

Samuel blanched. This was the last thing he wanted. Couldn't she just leave him alone?

"Um… no. I don't think that would be a good idea!" he said, trying to get away.

"Why not silly! Let's go!" exclaimed Pinkie, grabbing his hoof.

Samuel wrenched his hoof free and yelled, "No! Don't touch me! LEAVE ME ALONE!"

Pinkie Pie actually stopped bouncing. Her pink curly hair flattened with the sound of a deflating balloon. She blinked at him. "What's wrong?"

"What's wrong?!" yelled Samuel, "EVERYTHING is wrong! My whole life is wrong! I just want some place I can hide in peace!"

With that, he ran around Pinkie and galloped off into the Everfree forest. Samuel took a deep breath as he made sure the pink pony wasn't following him.

"Stupid Pinkie Pie," he grumbled as he sat down. This wasn't going to turn out well. Where was Michael? Was he going to be forced to stay here indefinitely? He hated this idea more and more. He sighed deeply and trotted slowly out of the forest and into a meadow, with his head bowed. He wanted nothing to do with this place. Nothing at all. Slowly he climbed his way to the top of a small hill, and he sat down. And there he sat, staring off into the distance as night descended on the land. Samuel sighed again and flopped his head down upon the grassy mound. A single tear rolled from his eyes and hit the ground. He hated himself more than anything… He closed his eyes and drifted to sleep.

His eyes snapped open, and he looked around. He was in a mist filled forest. At first Samuel had somehow been spirited away to a mysterious dimension, but then failing to release a massive hurricane of acid in retaliation, he realized something… he was dreaming. Samuel snorted with frustration and sat down in the damp grass. He looked around derisively as he surveyed his gloomy surroundings.

As he did so, he talked out loud to himself. "What an extraordinarily stupid dream," he said, "Literally. This is the most…"

Then he heard something. Pricking up his ears, Samuel cautiously approached the source of the noise. As he drew closer to location, he became aware that it was the sound of screaming. Breaking into a gallop, he drew closer and closer to the source of the sounds. He stopped just before the clearing where the noise was emanating from and peeked through the foliage. It was himself as a human, beating a demon to death with his fists. He was reliving the horrendous side of the death of Jahi in the realm of dreams.

Samuel pressed his ears to the side of his skull and turned around to run, but behind him was just another clearing that had suddenly appeared. This clearing contained a street and a couple of buildings, all buried in snow. He saw a small child dragging himself through the icy drifts, shivering. It was himself again, trying to survive as an orphan, just before he had been changed by the Paradox.

Samuel cowered to the ground and tried to cover his eyes and ears simultaneously to block out the terrible memories that constantly plagued him. When he thought that it was just about to get too great, and that his mind would surely break into pieces, a hoof lightly touched him on his shoulder.

Samuel shot up and whirled around with a snarl. It was a majestic alicorn pony, about the same size as him. Her coat was dark blue, and her mane was a glowing swirl of sapphire and ocean blue, and light azure. It was Luna. She looked at him curiously. Samuel just scowled in confusion and looked away, unsure of why she had appeared in his dreams.

"I have not seen you before, my friend," said Luna in an interested tone, "but your plagued dreams called to me in distress. What are your troubles?"

Suddenly he realized that he had forgotten to set up his mental defenses when he had drifted off to sleep. Every night he had previously spent in Equestria before he had tried to run away, he had blocked his mind from the outside world, keeping such mental intrusions at bay and rendering him invisible to ponies such as Luna. But now that he had forgotten…

"I am Princess Luna, ruler of the night. It is my duty to raise the moon every dusk, and comfort my subjects in the realm of their dreams. That is precisely why I am here, as I said," continued Luna

"I know who you are and what you are doing here. Well, you can go. I don't need any help," muttered Samuel, pointedly avoiding eye contact.

"Your dreams say otherwise."

"Go to hell."

Luna ignored his jab and looked through the clearings, watching with a saddened and distressed eye as she witnessed Samuel's tragic past of loneliness, suffering, and pain, as well as his descent into brutality. She blinked slowly as she began to comprehend what she was seeing. She turned back to Samuel, who was still looking at his hoofs, but had not yet attempted to leave.

"You are a dimensional traveler?" she asked, her tone gentle.

Samuel just nodded. "I am. I've been trying my entire life to escape what you just saw, and you're not making it any easier. Tell you what, go off and help someone else in their dreams, I don't need help. I just need to keep running. Eventually I'll leave everything in the dust," snapped Samuel, still looking hard at his hoofs.

"You can't run from your problems, you need to face them," said Luna kindly.

"Everyone seems to say that," snorted Samuel derisively, "I just don't know…"

He then looked up and looked Luna in the eyes and said again, "I just don't know…"

He sighed and closed his eyes.

Luna put a hoof and Samuel's shoulder and said, "I know where you are. Stay there. I'm coming to meet you."

Suddenly the dream began to fade, and Samuel yelled, "What? No! Don't! Don't come near me!"

But it was to no avail. The dream disappeared, and Samuel drifted into a deep slumber.

* * *

_Dimension: Looking for Group_

_Planet: Earth_

_Specific Location: The forest of Nestorep_

_Time: A month after the death of Miranda, a year after Cale'Anon meets Richard._

To the average passerby, the small space that represented the "base" of the Brothers in Arms corps look remarkably unremarkable. Just a small space. But this was just an illusion. The area was surrounded by walls of photon reflecting sheets of retro-reflective material and energy. It also was encompassed by a special synthesized material that was perfectly soundproof. These security measures were so well placed that no one would have ever realized that a large portal was opening within it to reveal a dragon and a human. No one noticed… except for hooded being. It had been watching the area for some time, his eyes peering straight through the deception. Now, as he sensed the return of the Brothers in Arms corps, he slowly got up onto all fours and moved towards the cloaked hideout. Neither Daniel or Franklin took any notice.

"What is our first move?" said Franklin as he sat down on a tree stump.

Daniel, who had chosen not to change out of his dragon form, slowly lowered his hefty body to the ground. He wrapped his tail around his back legs as he replied, "We need to find Evan Funsch. He might know where Finnian Jones is; he usually know where everyone is."

"Isn't he dead?" said Franklin as he pulled up his traveler's database.

"Stop looking at that!" exclaimed Daniel, swiping one of his massive claws through the holographic database projection that had popped up in front of Franklin's face, "We ALL know that it has been tampered with by now. And no, I don't think Evan Funsch is dead. Remember how Funsch and Jared DeWhite were acting just before the era of Anarchy really picked up in intensity? Those two were going on and on about how there was a conspiracy with the Paradox, and how their databases had been altered. Of course, we didn't take any notice of them then, but they were pretty serious. All of us were fooled, but I am pretty sure they took necessary precautions to be ready for the outbreak of chaos that was coming."

"Funsch and DeWhite were always suspicious of everything," sighed Franklin, "Anyway, where would Funsch be now?"

Daniel sighed and said, "I have no idea."

"How about DeWhite?"

"I have no idea either. He's probably at his home dimension though. He always made a point that he had no intention of ever getting really involved with our calling."

"Do you think he would know where Funsch is?"

"Nope. Those two may have gotten along, but they never really trusted each other. I think they would have gone their separate ways when the era of Anarchy exploded in our ranks."

Franklin threw up his hand in disgust. "Great. So we're trying to find Finnian Jones, who is missing. To find him, we're going to find Evan Funsch, who is ALSO missing! This is absolutely stupid. I vote we pay DeWhite a visit, maybe he has an idea."

"I doubt it, but I suppose we could try. He MIGHT has the SLIGHTEST chance of knowing where he could POSSIBLY be," chuckled Daniel.

Then a voice came from behind them. "Or you could ask me. I might know where he is."

Franklin whipped out his sniper rifle faster than the eye could move as he and Daniel whirled to confront the speaker. It was the mysterious hooded creature.

"Who are you? How did you find us?" said Daniel warily.

The creature threw off his hood. It was a pony from the My Little Pony dimension. Dark grey hide, green mane, greenish flanks. His cutie mark was a picture of a paw print imprinted upon an infinity sign. It was a dimensional traveler.

Franklin immediately recognized the being he was looking at. However, instead of putting down the sniper rifle, he just pointed it straighter and put a finger on the trigger.

Daniel, too, recognized the being. "It's nice to see you again Wild. Or should I say… Feral," he said calmly.

"Call me Wild, please, the name Feral is something of a trigger word if you know what I mean," chuckled the pony in guttural tones.

"It's nice to know that you got control of your good side then, you schizophrenic freak," said Franklin warily.

"I'm not schizophrenic. I am Wild, and then I am Feral. However, we're not here to talk about me," replied the pony.

"Maybe we should," said Daniel, "Last time I recall we met, we had to save your team from you while you were battling the northern demons. Didn't you kill one of them in your frenzy?"

"Those demons had it coming to them," said Wild, "my 'friends' just got in the way."

"I vote that we stop talking about Wild," said Franklin loudly, "I say we hear what he has to say. Then he can go on his way, and we can go ours."

"Oh no, Franklin, that's not how it's going to work," chuckled Wild, "If I tell you, you're going to take me with you two."

"Well then, I think we'll take our chances with finding Jared DeWhite," replied Daniel curtly, "We know where he probably is, and I will take that over having to travel with you."

Franklin and Daniel were about to open a portal when Wild said loudly, "He doesn't know where Funsch is. He did know, but he's not there anymore. I was the last on to speak with him."

Franklin slowly turned around and said, "Well… how do we know that you're not lying? How do we know that you're not just going to lead us into a trap? We've had that happen to us before, you know."

Wild grinned a voracious grin as he replied, "You're just going to have to trust me."

* * *

**Note: Aaannnddd say hello to the new Dimensional Traveler, Wild, people! Anyway, I was wondering... Would you guys like to see another Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Discord team-up? Or perhaps a different Ponyville team? Please let me know! And don't forget the feedback!**


	50. Chapter 50 - Mysterious Times

**Note: Just to let you know, the guide is up, just in case anyone missed it. Oh! And there is a wikia page on "A Mending Soul" now as well. Anyways... enjoy!**

* * *

_Dimension: My Little Pony_

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: A meadow just outside of Ponyville_

_Time: A month after the death of Miranda, 14 hours after the arrival of Doxia_

Sunset opened his eyes. He was still in the meadow. Then he remembered what had happened earlier. He, Fluttershy, and Starlight Amber had chosen to sleep under the stars the day before. He looked over at Fluttershy, who was still asleep peacefully. He then blinked. What had woken him up? He turned around. Doxia was sitting a distance away from them, looking at the sky. Doxia then looked down and noticed that Sunset was awake.

"Rise and shine sleepyhead," laughed Doxia in hushed tones, "You two look SOOOOOO cute together. I nearly had a cute-induced stroke. The cute power here was most certainly over 9000."

"Stop it Doixa," mumbled Sunset as he stretched and got up. He trotted over to where Doxia was sitting and looked at him. "What do you want?" he asked.

"I just wanted to let you know that I was about to see the firstborn. Of course, knowing him, he will take me randomly showing up a little worse than you. So I figured you could tag along."

Sunset nodded. He then turned to Fluttershy and gently shook her awake.

"Hmmm? What's going on?" murmured Fluttershy.

She then noticed Doxia. Giving a frightened squeak, she leapt behind Sunset.

"Oh, I'm Doxia. Pleased to meet you!" exclaimed Doxia jovially. Fluttershy glanced at Sunset, who said, "Yeah, he's okay. I THINK he's a good guy."

"You THINK? Ouch, you hurt me on multiple different levels, infinitybutt."

"If you start calling me that, I'll blast you," snorted Sunset.

"You'll blast me with what? Hitting me with a bolt of dark matter is the equivalent to throwing a ping pong ball at a titanium wall, infinitybutt" replied Doxia, "You know what? I could just start calling everyone that. They do have unique pictures on their flank after all."

Sunset shook his head to clear it. Doxia literally made no sense half the time he said anything.

Doxia moved over to where Fluttershy was and bowed low.

"I am honored to meet you, Fluttershy," said Doxia sincerely, "You are the Harmony bearer of kindness. We Dimensional Lords consider that element to be by far the most powerful."

Fluttershy blushed and gave Doxia a little smile.

"Well, Fluttershy," said Sunset after a pause, "I wanted to wake you up to let you know that Doxia and I are going to talk to Flaming Star. Do you want me to walk with you while you go home?"

"Oh no, Starlight and I will be just fine," said Fluttershy cheerfully, "You go do whatever it is you need to do."

Doxia struck a pose. "Right!" he declared, "Let us go see Flaming Star! We should grab a camera along the way, though, it wouldn't be right not to take a picture of his flabbergasted face when I show up."

"You act like you know for a fact he is going to be shocked," said Sunset as Fluttershy trotted away with Starlight's strolled, "You know he might just attack you."

Doxia waved a hand in a randomly picked direction, "Whatevs. Angry, surprised, pretty much the same thing. Get a picture of it."

Doxia conjured up a camera and tossed it Sunset. He then opened a portal to Twilight's Library. Through the portal Sunset could see Twilight and Flaming Star sleeping peacefully together, with Twilight resting her head on Flaming Star's back.

Sunset blushed and took a step back. "Maybe it would be better if we come back later. I don't think we want to interrupt."

Doxia ignored him. Taking a deep breath he yelled, "FLAMING STAR! EXECUTE CODE 66!"

Flaming Star and Twilight leapt out of their bed and tumbled to the ground. Flaming Star shot up looking around wildly. He then saw Doxia.

"Paradox? How DARE you…" he snarled as he threw up an energy shield around him and his fiancée.

"Me? The Paradox! Heaven forbid! I'm the Light Man. You know, that really awesome guy who did all that really awesome stuff?"

Twilight, who had been absolutely disoriented for a moment, then noticed Doxia.

"Oh my gosh!" she exclaimed, "That's him! That's the guy who saved me!"

Flaming Star dropped the shield, and Twilight rushed to embrace Doxia. She hugged him tightly and said, "Oh thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"

Doxia hugged her back without saying anything. Twilight then released him and said, "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, I'm here to talk to the firstborn. I want him to do something for me," replied Doxia.

Flaming Star eyes Doxia warily, "You want me to do something for you? What?"

"I know who the Brothers in Arms corps guys need to find to find Finnian Jones," said Doxia.

Flaming Star blinked. "How do you know of our plans?"

"Because I know lots of stuff. Anyways, I want you to go to Franklin and Daniel and tell them that they need to find the transformer Jetfire to find Finnian Jones. It won't take a moment. You could even just open a telepathic link. Oh, and when you do so, tell them that it is okay to trust Wild, and that Evan Funsch DOES know where Jetfire is," said Doxia.

Sunset looked at Doxia in confusion. "Wild? You mean THE Wild? That absolutely chaotic dimensional rogue?"

Doxia nodded. "That's the one! He, Franklin, and Daniel are having a little bit of an argument right now, so I want you to alleviate all that hurtful distrust."

Flaming Star narrowed his eyes and said, "Why should I do anything for you?"

"Because I told you," replied Doxia complacently, "I'm the elder."

"That's a laugh. I am eight thousand years old," snorted Flaming Star.

Doxia threw up his hands in mock despair. "No noes! Eight thousand! I didn't know! I thought for SURE that my measly trillion years would have the jump on you!"

Flaming Star blinked. "You're what?"

Doxia looked at Flaming Star and said, "Oh. I'm just one trillion years old… you know. Now go make that call."

"You are sooo weird, you know that?" muttered Flaming Star as he searched his mind for the mental port so that he could open up a channel with Daniel.

"I know. I try so hard."

Flaming Star ignored Doxia's reply as he found the port and opened it up.

"Daniel, it's Flaming Star," said Flaming Star over the link as Daniel accepted it.

"Hey firstborn. This isn't really the time right now for a call though, we are dealing with some issues," replied Daniel.

"I understand, but there are some important things I need to tell you."

"Go ahead."

"Find Jetfire. You guys need to find Jetfire. Evan Funsch knows where he is. Oh, and finally, trust Wild."

There was a pause, then Daniel said, "How the heck did you know Wild was here?"

"I know because I have some inside help. Needless to say I will be watching you guys. You need to carry this all out quickly though, I have a feeling the Paradox isn't twiddling his thumbs."

"Well… Understood. Okay. I'm out."

"Roger," said Flaming Star as he cut the link. He turned to Doxia, who was still on the other side of the portal. "I did it, satisfied?" he snapped. Doxia nodded.

"I am. I apologize. You guys can go back to being cute together. Oh, by the way, you two will NEVER look as cute a couple as Sunset and Fluttershy, just saying."

"Oh, it's ON," said Flaming Star, "You just wait…"

Doxia closed the portal. And turned to Sunset. "All good," he said.

Sunset facehoofed. "You have no idea how to interact socially with ponies, do you?" he groaned.

"Oh I did. About one trillion years ago. I'm off now, Sunset. I need to talk to Celestia."

"Why?" asked Sunset.

"Oh nothing important. Just that Equestria will soon be a hotspot for Elite Phasetroopers. The Paradox is actually right now dealing with a system virus that has disabled everything in the Amethyst dimension, but that won't keep him occupied for long. We need to get ready so that we can hold out as long as possible while the Brothers in Arms dudes find Finnian Jones."

Sunset shook his head and sighed. "So much fighting. I just want to enjoy the life I have with Fluttershy and Starlight Amber."

Doxia slowly got down on one knee, and said kindly, "That will be coming. You see? This is why we will win. Good has something worth fighting for."

With that, he turned around and opened a portal to Canterlot and stepped through.

Sunset sighed as he trotted off to his house.

* * *

_Dimension: My Little Pony_

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Canterlot Castle_

_Time: 14 hours after the arrival of Doxia_

Celestia flapped her wings gracefully as she finished her mourning rounds outside the castle. Ever since the invasion of Xaphan and his demons, she had been circling the castle once every day early in the morning to ensure that all was well within and outside the walls of Canterlot's capitol fortress. She swerved upwards as she prepared to land on her balcony outside her majestic chambers. Bright morning light filtered through her wings as she spread them wide and shook them, knocking loose droplets of morning dew that tumbled earthward in a swirl of bright points of colorful lights. Celestia sighed with contentment. All within her kingdom was safe. Just yesterday she had received word that Shadow Scepter and Corona Oscura had restored trust within their advisors and citizens, and that all was well. The war between the Equus-Irrum Alliance and Equestria was nothing more than an unpleasant memory now, and the real Commander Hurricane had gathered up all the scattered soldiers and restored the Freezelock Pass of the Frozen North.

Smiling a little to herself, she trotted into her chambers to lay down on her bed to do a little contemplation. She stopped as soon as she saw another being in her room, staring at a beautiful impressionistic picture of the sun and moon, rising together. The being slowly turned around at the sound of her hooves and looked straight at her. It was Doxia. Celestia recognized him immediately.

"Guard!" she yelled, a mixture of fear and anger in her illustrious voice.

Doxia bowed to her. "I do apologize for my intrusion, Celly," he said, "but don't bother calling the guards, they actually respect and fear me a little more than they do you, I'm afraid."

"What do you want?" asked Celestia warily, moving backwards. Her behind bumped against the large windows that led to the porch, it had closed and locked behind her.

Doxia sighed, his voice suddenly lacking its usual joviality. "These ponies literally worship you, Celestia," he said, "They bow and scrape to you, and they swear by you. Do you not understand what you hold sway over these ponies? You are almost a god to them, but yet you do not act truly like one. Character is what a pony does behind closed doors, not what they do out in the open, and a true ruler is pure in character."

Celestia sighed. "Doxia, I'm not here for games. What do you want?"

Doxia shook his head. "Celly, I don't want ANYTHING. I am here to help you."

"I don't want your help."

"That's what you said last time. But guess what? I was right. Letting the Paradox put the tree here was all part of his plan, but you didn't listen. You refused my help, and here we are, with impending doom on the horizon. Did you at least take the vials to a safe place?"

Celestia's pupils shrunk to a tenth of their size and blinked at Doxia.

Doxia facepalmed. "Okay… Where did you put them?"

"I… I gave them to the crystal unicorn Sombra."

"That's right! That little foal Sombraro! The staircase-obsessed pony! Where is that rascal?"

Celestia closed her eyes and sighed deep and long. Then she opened her eyes and said, "He's dead."

Doxia didn't react for a moment. Then he said, "Okay. Who killed him?"

Celestia scuffed a hoof on the ground as if she was a child being scolded for taking a cookie without asking permission. Then she said, "He killed himself."

Doxia folded his powerful arms across his chest and said, "I don't understand Celly. Please explain."

Celestia nodded and looked Doxia in the eyes. "It was the vials' faults," she said, "I gave them to him, but he became obsessed with the crystalline contents. He began to study deep into the dark arts of black crystal magic, and it consumed him. Luna and I fought him and banished him to the Artic. He broke free after a thousand years, unfortunately, and attempted to conquer the Crystal Empire. However, when we used the Crystal Heart, his body, which had become infused with black magic, reacted negatively to it and exploded. He died."

Doxia strolled over to Celestia and put a hand on her shoulder. "I understand," he said kindly, "I am sure it was difficult to see such a brilliant little foal like him fall into such an obsession. I knew that those vials would have a negative effect somehow. So let me guess: the secret of their location is hidden somewhere then?"

Celestia nodded. "I put the Crystal Empire's new rulers, Cadence and Shining Armor, on a lookout for it, but I had to be descreet. They don't really know what the vials are for, but they are searching indirectly for them."

Doxia returned the nod and then said, in his usual friendly voice, "Okie Doxia Lokie! That sounds good. I am probably going to leave to look for the vials myself then. They shouldn't be too hard to locate… I think."

He was about to open a portal when Celestia said, "What will become of Equestria? What's going on?"

Doixa sighed and turned around. "If all goes well, Equestria will be safe," he said kindly, "But I cannot guarantee that. You see, Celly, the Paradox has pissed off Heaven and Hell very badly. But I know the power of the Enigma Empire, and I can say a three-way war is on the horizon, and it will probably devastate the whole multiverse. But then again, that could just be part of the Paradox's plan, I don't know. My former leader is absolutely insane, so he might have been feeding me and Pictor lies all along. However, I don't think he knows of the vials, and if he doesn't than we have a chance changing everything. Unfortunately, all we need now is time. The vials will need time to be put to use."

Celestia rushed forward and hugged Doxia, something she had never dreamed of doing, but she was very worried and scared. Scared because she truly didn't understand the magnitude of what was going to transpire in her little nation, and worried because she couldn't comprehend what would be even left of her little nation if the events transpired. Doxia hugged her tightly back for a moment, and then eased away.

"Tell no one of our meeting yet, Celly," he said, "I don't think it poses relevance as of yet. However, if I sense we're out of time, we will need to tear apart the Crystal Empire. Those vials must be found. Do we have any experts on little Sombraro?"

Celestia sighed. "Princess Twilight Sparkle might know a thing or two, and Sunset Shadow seems to know everything about everything. They might be of use."

Doxia shook his head. "No, we need someone who KNEW Sombra."

Celestia shook her head as well. "No one then. Sombra was very secretive. So secretive in fact that we didn't know that the vials corrupted him until it was too late. However… he did have someone who loved him dearly."

Doxia stopped himself from stepping through the portal to look at Celestia. He nodded to her.

Celestia looked off into the distance as she recalled the painful memories of King Sombra's rise and fall. "I cannot remember her name… but Sombra had a sister. He cared for her, but eventually enslaved her like everyone else. When we freed the kingdom, however, the Crystal Empire vanished for a thousand years thanks to a powerful curse that Sombra had placed on the land. When it returned, and Sombra had been defeated once more, I sent Cadence to search for her. We found her, but she won't talk to anyone. She is the only crystal pony whose luster has not returned, and there is nothing we can do about it. She won't tell us anything."

Doxia groaned audibly. "Why does everything have to be so ironically difficult?" he exclaimed, "Okay, what we need to do is find a way to get Sombra's sister to talk. If she can divulge any information about those vials, we will be set. THOSE THINGS MUST BE FOUND."

Celestia straightened up decisively. "I will get one of my little ponies on it right away."

Doxia waved a powerfully armored hand. "You do that," he said, "I will be doing some snooping around, among some other stuff. Oh, and Celly? Please be careful, things are going to get real bad real soon."

With that, Doxia turned around and stepped through the portal into the Crystal Empire's castle. Immediately he was surrounded by a mixture of Crystal Empire guards and Equestira guards. When they saw Doxia come into full view, however, they faltered in their step. Even a trained soldier couldn't help but feel cowed by the presence of a Dimensional Lord.

Doxia bowed to them. "Hail bold ponies!" he said dramatically, "I am here to see Princess Cadence and Shining Armor."

"Y-your highnesses?" called on of the guards, "I think there is someone here to see you two."

A large door to the throne room flew open and Cadence and Shining Armor trotted out. Immediately Shining Armor defensively placed himself between Doxia and his wife and charged up his horn.

"Who are you?" he said warily.

Suddenly Cadence recognized Doxia. "He's the one who saved me from my prison!" she exclaimed joyfully. She flapped over Shining Armor and landed at Doxia's feet. She then bowed low. Doxia quickly raised her and said, "Do not bow to me."

Cadence smiled at him. "Why are you here? Dear friend?" she said, "Is there anything you need?"

Doxia nodded. "First things first. First I need you all to start calling Shining Armor, PRINCE Shining Armor. Or KING Shining Armor. This fad with princesses is getting way out of control, and that thing is too 2014. Second, I was wondering if any of you know where the hidden chambers of Sombra is, and if it has too many staircases in it. Sombra's cutie mark was a stairwell, wasn't it?"

Cadence blinked at him. "I am unsure. Um… Very well. I can show you where the chambers are, Princess Twilight Sparkle showed me their locations. Tell me, what is your name?"

Doxia got down and on one knee to look Cadence in the eyes, then he said, "I am Doxia. I am a Dimensional Lord."

"Why are you here? And why are you asking for these things?" said Shining Armor, trotting up to stand beside his wife.

"Well, PRINCE Shining Armor," said Doxia, "A long time ago, I gave a promising young filly a powerful present that she was supposed to guard. This little filly eventually passed it on to a special colt. This colt kept the present safe, and he kept it safe well. Unfortunately, he became obseesed with the present's contents, and it drove him mad. The location of the powerful present was lost in his madness. The filly was Celestia, and the colt was Sombra."

Shining Armor looked at Doxia, his eyes still full of wariness. He hadn't trusted much at face value since the Equus-Irrum Alliance war. "What was in the present?" he asked.

Doxia turned his armored head to look at Shining Armor. "That would be telling, wouldn't it?" he replied, "I might tell you when the time comes, but you two will have to trust me. I need to find this present, and I need to find it now."

Cadence nodded. "I trust you," she said, "Follow me."

Cadence signaled to the guards and they were more than glad to back down. She then turned and trotted off down a side passage.

"Wow, what a lucky catch, marrying her, huh?" murmured Doxia to Shining Armor.

Shining Armor glared at Doxia, "Stop it."

* * *

_Dimension: Looking For Group_

_Planet: Earth_

_Specific Location: Forest of Nestorep_

_Time: 14 hours after the arrival of Doxia in the My Little Pony dimension, a year after Cale'Anon meets Richard_

Daniel blinked as he disconnected the telepathic link with Flaming Star. He then turned to Franklin and Wild, who were looking at him expectantly. "The firstborn... He says... to trust Wild," said Daniel slowly.

Franklin threw his hands in the air and Wild winked at them. "The firstborn knows his stuff," said Wild, "As I said, you guys are just going to have to trust me."

"And why should we?!" snapped Franklin, "Why should we trust you, a rogue?"

"Rogues take care of each other, if you know what I mean," replied Wild.

"Well that's where you more wrong than usual," retorted Franklin, "We're heroes, not rogues."

"Oh?" said Wild, grinning, "Just check your databases for recent updates."

Both Daniel and Franklin did so, and what they saw stopped their hearts for a split-second: both of them were mentioned in the newest update... they were wanted, by order of the illustrious Paradox.

"We're... we're wanted criminals," said Daniel slowly, "The prize for our death..."

"Four vials of pure Revetahw... Heck, I would turn myself in for that stuff! You could buy a whole dimension with just three vials!" snorted Franklin, a little too shocked to even act shocked.

Daniel turned his great head to Wild and said, "Why haven't you tried to apprehend us?

Wild continued to grin, "Because I have no want for worldly material now, all I want is to do what is right."

Daniel blinked, "I... I don't understand. You want to do what is RIGHT?"

Wild nodded, "I am a supposed to be a hero, right? Well, I may not have been one before, but it sure counts more now that we are in need of one. And that is what I intend to do: be a hero once more."

Daniel nodded. "I understand. Wild... thank you."

Wild bowed his head as Franklin crossed his arms and said, "Great, great, great. So, we're freaking wanted heroes... yay. What are we supposed to do now? Go find Funsch?"

Daniel nodded. "Yes, we need to find Funsch, but he won't be able to help us find Finnian Jones."

"Then what is the POINT?!" burst out Franklin.

Wild just rolled his eyes, "Hold your horses, Franklin. We need to listen, Daniel hasn't finished yet."

Daniel quickly nodded to Wild and continued, "Thank you Wild. We still need to find Evan Funsch, as I said, but we aren't going to ask him for the location of Finnian Jones, we are going to ask him for the location of the dimensional traveler Jetfire."

Wild nodded his head slowly. "I see. Jetfire was best friends with Finnian Jones. That's who you guys are looking for in the first place, correct?"

"That's correct," said Daniel, "We are searching for Finnian Jones, who supposedly knows of the location of the Crystal of Harmony."

"So," said Franklin, "We find Evan Funsch, who will lead us to Jetfire. Jetfire will then lead us to Finnian Jones who will lead us to the Crystal of Harmony. While we do this, we will be racing the clock and dodging mercenaries and other dimensional travelers. Okay... well, what the heck. Yolo right?"

"Don't even start, Franklin," sighed Daniel. He then said, to Wild, "You know where Funsch should be, right?"

Wild nodded his head and then winked at Daniel and Franklin, "I do. Let's go... team."

Daniel sighed again. "Yes, let's go team."

* * *

_Dimension: Amethyst_

_Planet: Capitol Prime_

_Specific Location: Summit Meeting room 8, floor 9853171_

_Time: Unknown_

"When are we going to make our move?" snarled Pictor, slamming his fist on a white table. Then, at his telepathic signal, Pictor proceeded to pull up multiple holographic projections. He quickly positioned them in space about him as he quickly ran a couple of calculations as he continued, "You were stupid by leaving the job unfinished. You should have just stepped over Dimensional Traveler Miranda's dead body and continued the trigger process."

"That wouldn't have worked, Pictor," said Paradox calmly as he stared out a window into the vastness of space, "I understood that Doxia had defected. I also understood that he would come for me if I immediately set off the system."

"I could have handeled Doxia," snarled Pictor.

Paradox turned his armored head to look at his enforcer and shook his head. "You couldn't then, and you probably can't now. Even I can't," he said, "Doxia's abilities are incredibly powerful. We need another plan to dispose of him."

"We need multiple new plans now to append to the old one," replied Pictor sharply, "You killing Miranda has caught the attention of Heaven. According to our sensors, they have sent Archangel Michael to scout out the situation."

"Let him do that," replied Paradox, "He will not find us. No one can find us. The Phantom Mode is absolute. I will sort out a couple of new additions to the Great Plan, but the changes will not be too drastic. We just need to proceed as normal. Now that the warrant is out for Torrus, the firstborn, and the Brothers in Arms corps, our only bothersome enemies are bottled up, not that we should be worried about them at all."

Pictor glanced around, as if he knew they were being eavesdropped on, and leaned in close to the Paradox. Then he whispered, "Rumors are starting that the Great Leader Kytax might return."

Now it was the Paradox's turn to slam his fist on the table. He did it with such force that the table shattered to dust, and all the walls cracked. The window shattered and the air was sucked into space, but none of this even fazed the two Dimensional Lords.

"Do not speak of Kytax to me," said the Paradox in a deathly quiet voice, "He is not coming back, do you hear me? The other Dimensional Lords are simply speculating. Let them. They have no idea what is going on anyway."

"But how can we keep the rest from finding out our felonies?" snapped Pictor, "You forget that Meadolax might have come across something by now, and if he finds out truly what we are doing, he too will defect. The Great Plan is good, but it will only be good as long as other Dimensional Lords are not involved… like the Great Leader Kytax."

"I SAID not to mention that name to me," said the Paradox in the same deathly quiet voice, "Kytax is not coming back. We must simply proceed like we have set out."

* * *

**Note: Oooooooohhhh... What is in the vial?! And who is this Great Leader Kytax?! You guys will just have to wait for the upcoming chapters! Anyway, keep that R&R stuff coming in! I love reviews! Oh! Here's a good question! What is your favorite chapter so far, and why?**


	51. Chapter 51 - Ambush

**Note: "I find your lack of immediate feedback disturbing." -Darth (not) Vader. Where were my reviews? Did I lose them under the rug somewhere? Just kidding. We're moving on now...**

* * *

_Dimension: My Little Pony_

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Twilight's library_

_Time: 14 hours after the arrival of Doxia_

Twilight and Flaming Star just sat on the bed together, thinking about what had occurred with them and Doxia's message to the Brothers in Arms corps.

"We are SO totally cuter than Fluttershy and Sunset," muttered Flaming Star.

Twilight just burst out laughing as Flaming Star glanced indignantly at her. "I mean it!" he exclaimed, "We ARE!"

Twilight kissed Flaming Star on the cheek. "You're so funny," she sighed. She then flopped back onto the bed. Flaming Star joined her.

"So," he said, "What do you want to do today?"

"I have an appointment with Rarity to go over the color schemes of the wedding," sighed Twilight, picking up a pillow and slapping it over her face, muffling her voice.

Flaming Star chuckled. "Ah yes, and I have an appointment with Rarity to go over the finalized version of my suit."

"That pony… sometimes I think…" muttered Twilight.

"Rarity is AWESOME. And you know it!" exclaimed Spike as he walked by them, sweeping the floor, "You two looked soooo cute sleeping together, by the way."

Twilight blushed profusely and exclaimed, "Spike!"

Spike was about to say something else but stopped. He double over and belched out a letter from Princess Celestia. Twilight forgot her momentary embarrassment as she used her magic to levitate the letter over to where she lay. She then opened it and scanned its contents. She levitated it over to Flaming Star as she said, "Princess Celestia wants us to talk to Pinkie Pie. Apparently Princess Celestia wants her to go cheer some crystal pony up somewhere in the Crystal Empire. Interesting."

"It seems to be of some importance, though," mused Flaming Star as he read the letter through himself, "We should get it on it right away."

"You mean I will get on it right away," corrected Twilight as she levitated over a checklist, "I've made your schedule for today, and I want you to stick to it. Don't forget to look over your secondary checklist, and your backup-backup checklist."

Flaming Star groaned audibly, and Twilight laughed. "If you're going to marry me, you're going to have to learn to organized," she said.

"Yes ma'am," sighed Flaming Star as he unfurled a packet of long strips of paper, "Are these notarized? How about signature-gridlocked?"

Twilight poked him in the stomach as she got up, "Very funny, mister. You get started on double-checking your backup list; I'll go to Pinkie Pie's."

Twilight then trotted out of her library and went straight to Sugar Cube Corner.

"Hello Mr. Cake!" she exclaimed cheerfully as she entered the building.

"Why hello Princess Twilight!" replied Mr. Cake, "What can I do for you today?"

"I was wondering where Pinkie Pie might be," Twilight said, giving him a huge smile.

Mr. Cake nodded, "She's in her room."

Twilight nodded and trotted upstairs to the second story. She then knocked on Pinkie's door. After a pause, the door swung open to reveal a rather disheveled Pinkie Pie, whose hair was still deflated.

"Pinkie!" exclaimed Twilight, "What's wrong?"

"I wasn't able to get the green pony to be my friend," sighed Pinkie, a little downcast, "And now I can't find him!"

Twilight cocked her head to one side, "Say what?"

"Oh, never mind," replied Pinkie, "Would you like to come in?"

Twilight nodded, and trotted it. She then sat down on the floor and handed Pinkie the letter from Celestia.

"Princess Celestia has a mission for you," Twilight explained, "She needs you to cheer up some important pony in the Crystal Empire. However, if you're not up to it…"

Suddenly Pinkie's hair "re-inflated" with a pop and she exclaimed, "AM I EVER?! This will be wonderful! A pony to cheer up!"

Twilight sighed in relief; Pinkie's attitude had had her worried for a moment. "That's wonderful, Pinkie Pie," she said, "is there anything I can do to help you?"

"Nope!" exclaimed Pinkie happily, "I just need to grab my party cannon, Gummy, Boneless, and a few other things and then I'll be off!"

Twilight nodded and was about to leave when Pinkie said, "Wait! There IS something you can do! Avengers Assemble!"

Twilight blinked. "W-what?"

"I need my team! I need Rarity and Discord!" explained Pinkie Pie dramatically.

Twilight's mouth dropped. "You… you need Rarity and Discord?"

Pinkie Pie nodded her head vigorously. "Oh yes," she said, "I need Rarity and Discord! They're my team! We went to that crazy party in Bray! Wasn't that fun?!"

"Pinkie," said Twilight with a roll of her eyes, "That 'party' was an ambush."

"Huh, I didn't see that many bushes around when we were having THAT party. Never mind! I need them! Can you help me get them? Plllleeaaasssseee?!"

Twilight took a deep breath, then she said, "Okay. Let's go. First we'll go to Rarity's, then we will go to Flaming Star, I'm sure he will be able to contact Discord. I am SURE they will both be more than happy to go with you to the Crystal Empire."

Pinkie leapt into the air, tossing confetti from nowhere as she exclaimed, "Absaballyloutly wonderful! Let's go!"

Pinkie began to bounce downstairs and out the door, and Twilight followed her. They went directly to Rarity's house and Pinkie pounded on the door.

"Open up Rarity!" exclaimed Pinkie gleefully, "We have some teamwork to do!"

Rarity opened up the door and blinked at Pinkie Pie. "Er, beg pardon?" Then she noticed Twilight. "Twilight! You're early! That's wonderful! We can start looking at some color schemes now! I have this particularly dashing beige color that I want you to have a look like. But no… beige doesn't go very well with purple, does it? Oh! Maybe we could use orange!"

Twilight resisted blanching and took a step back. She then said, "Oh, no, I'm fine right now, Rarity. It's Pinkie Pie who wants to talk to you right now."

Rarity sighed. "Very well… Pinkie? What is it that you want to say?"

Pinkie bounced up and down as she exclaimed, "It's teamwork time Rarity! Remember when we went to Bray? Well, Celestia wants me to go and cheer some pony up, so I figured, 'hey, they went with me last time when I traveled; they should come with me again!'"

Rarity sighed. "Oh Pinkie, I really do apologize, but I just cannot leave. I have all this work I need to complete! I can't just go off to attempt to cheer up some pony I don't even know! That's more of your category, really. And there would be Discord!"

Pinkie nodded. "Uh huh! But still! Discord can create stuff out of thin air, and you can make really pretty dresses! I am SURE that crystal ponies LOVE pretty dresses! And sequins!"

Rarity cocked her head to one side as she asked, "Crystal ponies? What?"

"Yep!" exclaimed Pinkie, "I need to go to the Crystal Empire! A crystal pony needs cheering up! Like I said!"

Rarity blinked. Then she exclaimed, "The Crystal Empire?! Well why didn't you say so darling?! How posh! I'll pack my bags right away. Oh no… I have an appointment with Twilight and Flaming Star though…"

Twilight smiled at Rarity. "We'll still be here when you get back, Rarity," she said kindly, "And we haven't even decided on a wedding date anyway!"

Rarity smiled dreamily. "Oh thank you Twilight! The Crystal Empire… it has been AGES since I last went there. All those rubies and diamonds and quartz…"

Pinkie bounced up and down excitedly. "Great!" she exclaimed, "Now all we need is Discord!"

Rarity blanched, but then recovered. She sighed dramatically, "Oh yes… well… I suppose."

Twilight turned around and beckoned to Pinkie. "Let's go find Flaming Star," she said, "He should be able to contact Discord."

The two cantered off as Rarity quickly reentered her house saying, "Sweetie Bell? We're going to call our parents! I need them to look out for you while I'm going to the Crystal Empire for a spell!"

Meanwhile, Pinkie Pie and Twilight reached Twilight's Library, where Spike and Flaming Star sat on the porch, playing Scrabble.

Spike had Flaming Star's traveler database open, and was searching for a word to match the letters he had.

"Are you SURE it can't be a proper noun?" grumbled Spike, "I found Quietsem! It's a type of plant in the Star Trek dimension! That would score me, like, a billion points!"

"Nope. Sorry," chuckled Flaming Star, "Thanks for letting me know what all your letters are, though!"

Twilight trotted up to them and kissed Flaming Star on the cheek. "Hello every pony!" she exclaimed cheerfully.

Flaming Star smiled up at her and then looked back at the board. "Don't make me start timing you, Spike," said Flaming Star.

Spike just waved a claw off in a randomly picked direction. "Yeah, yeah. It has already been about 45 minutes since your last turn anyway. I'm sure you can wait 45 minutes more."

Flaming Star rolled his eyes dramatically and turned to look at Twilight. "Can I help you, Twilight?" he asked.

Twilight nodded in the affirmative. "Pinkie has something to ask of you," she replied.

"Yeppers!" exclaimed Pinkie, "I need you to get Discord for me!"

Flaming Star blinked. "You WANT me to get Discord for you?"

Pinkie nodded. "Yeah! I need to go on a vveerrrryyyy important mission for Celestia in the Crystal Empire! However, last time I did anything important, it was with my ever-so-awesome team backing me up! Thus, I decided it was only fair that I get the team back together!"

Flaming Star returned the nod slowly. "Okay… I can see what you're getting at," he replied. He then turned his head to look at Spike, who was still looking at the traveler's database frantically. "Sorry, Spike, but you're going to have to grab a dictionary, I have to go now. Oh, by the way, did I ever tell you that you're technically cheating?"

Spike rolled his eyes. "About a million times. But it's only fair! I'm a baby dragon! You're an eight-thousand-something-year-old!"

Flaming Star chuckled again. "Yes, I suppose you're right. Well, I'm off. Twilight, make sure he doesn't try to switch out my word for his. In fact, why don't you take me place? I'm sure you can score higher than I ever could."

"I doubt that," giggled Twilight as she took Flaming Star's place at the Scrabble board. Flaming Star smiled, patted Twilight's hoof, and then turned around. He then quickly opened a portal to Canterlot castle and trotted through.

The moment he entered, he was surrounded by guards. However, they recognized him immediately and stood down. At this moment, Celestia herself entered.

"Greetings Celestia!" said Flaming Star cheerfully, "I see that our portal-defense security measures are working just fine! Do you, perchance, know where Discord is?"

Celestia sighed. "I can't say that I have seen him recently."

Flaming Star cocked his head to one side and said, "Celestia? Is something troubling you? You seem a little bit flustered."

Celestia shook her head as she replied, "Oh no, I'm fine. I just have a lot to think about at the moment."

Flaming Star nodded his head, but didn't immediately drop the conversation. "Okay. Where's Luna?"

Celestia shook her head again. "I am unsure," she said, "She left earlier this morning, saying that she was going to meet somepony."

Flaming Star thought about that statement for a moment. Unusual. Then he smiled. "Very well. Is there anything I can do for you? I still think you look a little weighed-down."

Celestia sighed. "I am fine, Flaming Star, as I said. You should check Canterlot's royal gardens, that is usually where Discord is to be found."

The regal alicorn then turned around and trotted out the same way she entered. Flaming Star blinked after her in bemusement for a moment, and then went off to the gardens. When he entered, it seemed deserted, but Flaming Star called out, "Discord! I know you're here! Come out please!"

Discord suddenly flashed into existence, dressed in a sniper-grade camouflage vest. "Oh! There you are Flaming Star," he drawled, "I suppose you're here to help me fortify my little hidey-hole?"

The yellow alicorn shook his head. "Um… no. What do you mean?"

Discord threw up his hand in the air in mock horror. "The tragedy! I understand that we are not to trust the traveler's database anymore, but a pony would think that you would at lease check the updates once and a while!"

Flaming Star narrowed his eyes at Discord. "What do you mean?"

Discord opened his own traveler's database and projected it in front of his face. "Take a look at the updates, my friend."

Flaming Star did so, and he just stared dumbly at the interdimensional announcement. He, Sunset, and the Brothers in Arms corps were being branded as six-star wanted criminals. The reward for their capture (or, preferably, death) was four vials of Revetahw.

"I would turn myself in for four vials of that elixir," commented Discord dryly as Flaming Star read over the update's contents over and over again.

"Brilliant," breathed Flaming Star. The Paradox had effectively boxed them in the My Little Pony dimension.

"Brilliant indeed," snorted Discord, "I suppose we're going to have to get ready for invading marauders soon."

"I suppose," Flaming Star replied as he closed his database, "Nevertheless, that is not why I am here. Pinkie Pie wants you."

Discord fell out of the air in surprise. He quickly scrambled up, dusted himself off, and pulled a face. "What do you mean she WANTS me? I am not going into a Pinkiecord thing, there are other timelines for that."

Flaming Star rolled his eyes. "Heck no, Discord. She wants you because she wants to reassemble the Bray team. Remember? You, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity?"

Discord grinned as he recalled those specific events of the past. "Ah, yes, an enjoyable vacation if there ever was one."

Flaming Star chuckled, "I am sure Rarity would disagree to that statement vehemently. Anyway, Pinkie Pie was tasked by Celestia to 'cheer up' a pony in the Crystal Empire. Pinkie said she would do it, if you and Rarity choose to tag along. I believe Rarity has already agreed, but there is still you."

Discord stroked his chin slowly for a full minute. Then he flashed out of existence and then flashed back in again, now dressed in a suit and tie. He waved his golden swagger stick in the air as he declared, "I suppose my hidey-hole of epic proportions can wait a spell. Let us go and bother Rarity! Er… I mean… Let us go and cheer up a pony!"

Flaming Star rolled his eyes once more before opening the portal back to Twilight's Library in Ponyville. The two moved quickly through it. Twilight, who was still waiting for Spike to finish his turn, looked up at the sound of the portal opening and closing and trotted up to meet Flaming Star and Discord.

"That's right! You two are ENGAGED!" exclaimed Discord gleefully, "Oh my, all the little ponies are growing up. How quaint."

"I believe the term is 'cute,' Discord," replied Flaming Star good-humoredly.

Twilight, however, blushed, and this enticed Discord to continue. "Ah yes, I did mean cute. You two are the perfect match! However, you two are going to have to try really hard to look cuter than Fluttershy and Sunset. My, my, now those two have it going."

"Why does everyone think they're cuter than us?" snorted Flaming Star. Then he straightened up and said, "Look, Discord, this isn't the issue, and last time I checked, I was marrying one of the most wonderful ponies in Equestria, not you, so get over it."

Discord sighed dramatically, "Very well. Your wish is my command, firstborn. Right, where is Rarity, and team leader Pinkie Pie?"

Pinkie Pie and Rarity appeared just around a corner at that moment. Discord quickly teleported over there and bowed to them both. "Discord, at your service madams!"

Pinkie gave him a huge smile, but Rarity just looked away, muttering, "A visit to the Crystal Empire better balance this out…"

Discord ignored her jab and conjured up a safari outfit. He then popped out a map from a vest pocket and unfolded it.

"It appears that we will be traveling north… interesting," chortled Discord as he pretended to scrutinize the map while holding it upside-down.

"I packed my things," interjected Rarity, "I suggest we leave as soon as possible, before Discord gets too excited about being annoying. Spike! Would you be a dear and help me carry my luggage? Pretty please?"

Spike nodded vigorously and leapt up. "Flaming Star! Take my place!"

Flaming Star sat down and looked over Spikes Scrabble letters for a moment and then said, "Oh! Mesquits! That's 392 points for me, Twily."

Spike nearly tripped over himself. He was about to turn around to complain when Rarity grabbed him.

"Let us hurry darling! We don't have much time to lose! We have train tickets to the Crystal Empire set for this afternoon!"

As Pinkie Pie, Discord, Rarity, and Spike left for the train station, Twilight stared blankly at the Scrabble board and her letters. After a moment, she said, "Can I resign?"

Flaming Star winked at her. "Sure you can, sweetie."

* * *

_Dimension: Looking For Group_

_Planet: Earth_

_Specific Location: The forest of Nestorep_

_Time: A year after Cale'Anon meets Richard_

Wild beckoned Daniel and Franklin over to stand by him. "I was lucky when I stumbled upon your hideout," he said as they moved to stand next to him, "But that doesn't mean other travelers cannot find you. In fact, no matter where we go, there is a fair chance that we could be noticed and attacked. We're going to have to be careful."

Daniel nodded his head sagely, "I agree. So, where are we going?"

Wild cut his voracious grin for a moment to grimace. "We have to go to the Star Wars dimension. 21 years before the battle of Yavin."

Franklin nodded, "Cool, so we get to shoot stuff more often then. Why the hell is Funsch there?"

"Funsch is actually right now hunting down another traveler, who he suspects has been helping the Paradox formalize the false information in our databases."

"Coolio," replied Franklin briskly, "Let's get the hell there already so we can get this over with."

Wild nodded and then began to search for the dimension in his mind so that he could open up a portal.

As this was happening, Daniel glanced over at Franklin with worry in his eyes. "Franklin," he said quietly, "What are you going to do when this is all over?"

"Assuming we're not both dead?" snorted Franklin, "Well, I don't know. I fully expect to be killed while doing this, so I'm not really worried."

"What do you mean?" asked Daniel gently.

Franklin sighed derisively, "My family is dead. My sister is dead. Night Shade left. I really don't have much going for me other than fighting and dying now. But… I suppose… I suppose if I do survive, I will spend out the rest of my days as a bartender for the Snuggly Duckling Inn in the Tangled dimension."

The moment after this statement left Franklin's lips and drifted into the air, a portal crackled opened and Wild turned around, grinning.

"We have a portal, let's move," he said. The three quickly moved through it, and the portal closed behind them with a small "pop." They found themselves in a dense jungle. Giant temples of stone framed the sky in the distance to the west. A deathly silence echoed throughout the whole landscape.

"We have to be careful," said Wild warily, "There could be sensors anywhere on this planet."

"Where are we?" breathed Daniel, staring suspiciously around.

"This is Tython. This is the homeworld of the Jedi. Be careful, it is not a safe haven. The creatures that inhabit this planet now are slaves to the Sith, the mortal enemies of the Jedi," said Wild.

"Yeah, yeah, we know. I didn't spend my whole life in the Star Trek dimension, you know," snapped Franklin, "I don't think there's anything wrong with this place…"

Suddenly a hail of bolts of explosive energy tore through the area that Daniel, Wild, and Franklin were standing on. Quickly Daniel recovered and threw up an energy shield. Another hail of bolts struck the shield and the shield shattered into shards of pure energy.

"Run for cover!" roared Wild as yet another hail of energy bolts decimated the land.

Suddenly heavily armored humans leapt from the surrounding trees, hurling beams of power from their fists.

Wild swiftly responded by blasting several of the attackers with bolts of shadow. Then he leapt upon the nearest enemy, tearing into the man with his teeth. Daniel took a deep breath and released a massive onslaught of fire. The blast of pure heat vaporized the entire clearing, and blew away a group of the armored humans. Franklin quickly pulled out his sniper rifle, and began to no-scope the enemies nearest to him.

"I just HAD to open my big mouth!" yelled Franklin in frustration as one of the armored men grabbed his sniper rifle. Franklin flipped the weapon around and began to strangle the unfortunate person. Franklin then hoisted him in the air and dove backwards, rapidly firing his rifle sideways simultaneously, as he used the strangled man as a meat shield.

A dark mist of pure shadow energy was trailing from Wild as he zoomed around, tearing out the throats of his enemies while using his control of shadow energy to keep those behind him at bay. Meanwhile Daniel was still swathing the battlefield in fire as he slammed his great claws into the ground, sending up massive blasts of seismic power, knocking back those who dared to get too close to him.

Despite the ferocity of the battle, it soon petered out, and Daniel, Wild, and Franklin stood around, breathing heavily.

"Were these travelers?" said Daniel, still breathing hard.

"No, they didn't taste like one," said Wild. Both Daniel and Franklin glanced at him and started to sidle away. "I'm not joking!" snapped Wild, "However, they are armed with traveler-grade weaponry. I think a mercenary is equipping them with the weapons, hoping that they can weaken us."

"Well, where would this 'mysterious' mercenary be, then?" snorted Franklin, "Heaven forbid he ran away when he saw you having lunch."

Suddenly a massive blast of kinetic energy sent the group spiraling away into a grove of trees that hadn't been burned down. Wild swiftly scrambled to his feet and cast up a massive wall of pure shadow every. The wall then shattered from a second impact into a enormous amount of black mist that swirled around Wild, Daniel, and Franklin, obscuring their attacker from their view.

* * *

**Note: The suspense! Anyway, I am going to have to call this the end of the week. Sorry, but I have lots of other stuff that needs doing, and I need to restock my doc manager as well as prepare for a new story (that may or may not involve dimensional travelers directly). See you guys next week! And don't forget to REVIEW!**


	52. Chapter 52 - Complications

**Note: My story has reached 100 reviews! Yes! Let's celebrate with some Doxia stuff and some Wild time! Oh, by the way, I thank you all for being so helpful and encouraging, and I look forward to writing many more chapters! Keep that feedback rolling in!**

* * *

_Dimension: Star Wars_

_Planet: Tython_

_Specific Location: Western Temples_

_Time: 15 hours after the arrival of Doxia in the My Little Pony dimension, 21 years before the battle of Yavin_

Fortunately, the shadow wall had bought enough time for both Daniel and Franklin to recover as well from the attack. The smoke eventually cleared and Franklin's sharp eyes quickly recognized the attacker: Matthew Tricost, a well-known dimensional traveler.

"Great, we get to fight a popular traveler, this will most certainly make us even more wanted than we already are," grumbled Franklin as he picked up his sniper rifle.

"We have a popular traveler on our team, remember?" said Wild, not taking his narrowed eyes off the approaching enemy.

Franklin rolled his eyes. "Great! Daniel, you hear that? You're popular! Go over then and… um… un-popularize Tricost!"

Daniel took a deep breath and bellowed at Matthew, "Tricost! What the hell are you doing?!"

"I'm bringing you in!" shouted Tricost. He then stopped, charged up his fists, and hurled another powerful blast of kinetic energy. Quickly Daniel slammed his claws on the ground, commanding the ground to rise up to form a barrier 100 meters thick. The kinetic blast struck the earthen wall and blasted it to smithereens. Tricost was now only 150 meters away. He stopped again and put up his fists.

As he did this, Daniel said, "What have we ever done to you? The warrant doesn't even tell you what we did wrong other than going against the Paradox!"

"I don't need to know what you did," snapped Tricost, "All I need to know is your disobedience… and the prize."

Franklin rolled his eyes. "Well then," he said, "Now that we know he is really just here for the prize, I suppose we can just take him out, since he's obviously not going to be reasonable."

Tricost levitated himself in the air as he hurled a wave of lethal light energy blasts. Quickly Wild countered the attack with an equally large wave of shadow bolts. Meanwhile, Franklin dove to one side, filling the air with bullets as Daniel took a deep breath, preparing to unleash a storm of pure fire.

Tricost quickly dove to the ground, dodging Wild's second shadow attack and engaging Franklin in hand-to-hand combat. Franklin threw his sniper rifle away and conjured up a sword as Tricost dove upon him, a sword of his own in his hand. The two quickly began to fight as Franklin said, "We're not the real enemies Matthew! The Paradox has been using us! He really is just going to kill us all in the end!"

"It doesn't matter!" snapped Tricost. He drove Franklin backwards with a vicious slash of his sword. He then twirled as he hurled a stream of explosive energy, knocking Wild backwards, who had been sneaking up on him. Daniel just stood to one side, holding back his attacks because of the close proximity of Franklin.

Franklin dove into the fight once more and quickly assaulted Tricost with a set of attacks. A quick jab, then a sweeping uppercut, then a left feint followed by a swift slash to the right. All of these Tricost blocked. He then locked blades with Franklin. Quickly Tricost kicked Franklin in the shins and shoved him backwards so that he could duck down, dodging a precision shadow attack from Wild. With Franklin on the ground, Tricost then accosted Wild. The two momentarily grappled with each other, but Tricost kicked Wild away. He then leapt backwards with a somersault. He followed up by throwing a fist forward, unleashing a stream of light energy. Wild retaliated with a stream of shadow energy. The two streams connected and the shockwave caused all standing trees in a kilometer radius to be blasted over. It also knocked Franklin, who was starting to recover, over again.

"I told you guys not to cross the streams," chuckled Franklin breathlessly as he tried to get up again.

Suddenly then Daniel unleashed the fire storm in a focused beam straight at Tricost, who swiftly threw up an energy shield. However, the force of the fire blast was so great that it sent him flying into a tree. He slammed against it and fell to the ground, winded. He recovered and leapt up, but as he raised his fists to call down a lightning strike, a shadow blast from Wild struck him upside the head, knocking him out cold. He tumbled to the ground.

"That… was interesting," sighed Franklin, getting to his feet, "nice moves their wolf boy."

"I'm technically a pony," responded Wild dryly. The wolf/pony then turned to Daniel and said, "What are we going to do with this guy?"

Daniel pocked the unconscious form of Tricost as he mused. Then he said, "We're going to drop him in the negative zone."

Franklin pulled a face. The negative zone was a dimension void of literally everything, including physics. One would simply float there, not able to experience anything or die, until someone pulled them out.

"Are you sure? Won't he just escape?" said Wild skeptically.

"Of course he will," said Daniel, "But by the time he does, we will be long gone. Now we know that we must be more careful when covering out tracks. We need to find Funsch, and this won't stop us."

"How do we know that Funsch himself won't just attack us when we find him?" asked Franklin cynically.

Daniel shook his head. "We don't. However, I believe he won't. After all, he was the first to suspect the Paradox and live, so he might understand. Either way, we need to keep moving."

Wild nodded. "Acknowledged," he said, "Funsch should be on Coruscant, the capitol of the republic that rules this specific galaxy. Follow me."

Wild then opened another portal to that specific planet and stepped through. Daniel quickly opened a portal of his own to the negative zone. He tossed the unconscious Tricost through the interdimensional opening and closed it. He then opened another to Coruscant, and he and Franklin moved through.

* * *

_Dimension: My Little Pony_

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: The Crystal Empire_

_Time: 15 hours after the arrival of Doxia_

"Grrreeaaattttt… It's the throne room. I am so happy that your royal behind is comfortable here," snorted Doxia as Cadence led him into grand crystal hallway of the kings and queens of the Crystal Empire.

"There is a hidden trapdoor right beneath us," replied Cadence, "All I need to do is… now…"

Cadence closed her eyes and strained. Dark magic began to gather around her horn, and a terrible crackling and hissing noise filled the air. Sweat began to trickle for Cadence's brow as she continued to strive to control the dark magic. However, then Doxia gently placed an armored hand over her horn, snuffing out the magic. Cadence looked curiously at Doxia, who said, kindly, "I'll do it. Do not try any further attempts to cast dark magic; it is one of the most hated things in the multiverse."

Doxia raised a hand, and a aura of power surrounded his appendage. Beams of a strange color began to wreath around it and rips in time, dimensions, and space began form around his fist. Suddenly Doxia clenched his fist and cut off the power. He then simply snapped a finger and the trapdoor slid open.

"What… what happened?" asked Shining Armor after a pause.

Doxia chuckled. "Oh, I was exaggerating. Sorry about that." He then proceeded to peer down the new opening.

"Wow. I totally think Sombra's cutie mark WAS a stairwell," commented Doxia as he gazed down the winding stairs that led from the trapdoor opening down into the inky darkness.

"I could teleport us down…" said Cadence slowly.

Doxia just abruptly grabbed Cadence and Shining Armor and leapt into the darkness yelling, "GGGGEEEERRRROOOONNNIIIMMOOOOOO! "

Cadence screamed at the top of her lungs the whole way down, but just before they hit the ground, they decelerated rapidly and the three lightly landed on the floor.

Shining glared at Doxia as he snapped, "Don't do that again!"

Doxia shook his head as he looked around. "Some ponies don't enjoy the spice of life," he muttered to himself. Almost immediately they noticed a door. Cadence trotted up to open it, but it suddenly slid around the circular chamber to the opposite side. Cadence blinked, and trotted up to it again. Once again the door moved away from her swiftly.

"Dark magic, most probably," said Doxia heavily. He hated the black arts with a passion. Raising a hand, he snapped a finger. The door suddenly began to glow an eerie green, with black lighting running the length of its frame. Then it shot open and a bright light began to shine from it. Immediately Cadence and Shining were placed in a trance, as Sombra's dark magic defenses began to mentally show them their greatest fears: They were shown again the day when Abbadon was destroying the Crystal Empire; however, this time no help ever came. Dead ponies and shards of crystal filled the streets, and buildings were being demolished every other second. The air was choking with ash, dust, and soot, and the entire land was filled with the sounds of terror and mourning…

The magic hit Doxia too, but bounced harmlessly off. He had nothing to fear, so it did not affect him. He quickly strode up to the door and slammed it shut, cutting off the magic source. Cadence and Shining Armor shook their heads in bewilderment and relief as they realized what was going on.

"Sombra's magical defenses," explained Doxia briskly. He then sized up the door. Extending a hand, bands of pure light began to ripple around his fist. Suddenly a blast of pure power burst forth and struck the door, annihilating it and its dark magic and blasting a hole through the wall.

Doxia, Cadence, and Shining Armor strode through the opening and found themselves facing yet another stairwell, but this time leading skywards.

"I bet you a whole globule of Revetahw that Sombra's cutie mark was a stairwell," laughed Doxia as Cadence sat down and buried her head in her hooves.

Doxia then glanced at Cadence and Shining Armor expectantly.

Shining sighed deep and long and then smiled a little. "Okay," he said, "Let's get this over with."

Doxia seized Shining and Cadence and rocketed upwards at supersonic speeds, with Cadence screaming the whole way. In literally no time they were at the top. All they found was an empty round terrace that overlooked the whole of the Crystal Empire. This was where the crystal heart of the Crystal Empire had originally been hidden.

Doxia cocked his head to one side as he strolled around the plateau of crystal and marble. Then he began to scan the timeline with his powers, searching for a hint of where Sombra had hidden the mysterious vials. There Doxia stood, for a good hour, just scanning the timeline. Eventually he cut the outflow of power and gave up looking at the temporal continuum.

"Huh, wherever Sombra hid it, he most certainly didn't hide it here," said Doxia slowly. He looked out over the Crystal Empire. He stopped for a moment and then said, "It looks like Princess Celestia is sending her backup. Interesting."

Cadence sat up from where she had been laying on the ground next to Shining. She pricked up her ears and said, "What? What backup?"

Doxia nodded towards the Crystal Empire train station, a mere speck in the distance. "I see smoke billowing on the horizon, and I can recognize the beings riding the train. There is Pinkie Pie, element of laughter; Rarity, element of generosity; and Discord, dimensional traveler."

Cadence peered off in the direction that Doxia was looking, but her eyesight was nowhere near as good as his. She blinked, "I can't see anything."

"That's because you don't have Dimensional Lord eyesight. No problem. We can remedy that."

He snapped a finger and suddenly the three had been teleported from the terrace to the train station. Cadence, who was totally unready for transfer, fell hard on her rump, and Shining landed on his jaw. The two staggered up and shook their heads vigorously to clear them. Doxia waved enthusiastically at the train as it pulled into the station. The train literally stopped early so it could avoid pulling up directly next to him. The ponies getting off the train immediately exited and moved as far away as possible from the Dimensional Lord, who pretty much was terrifying.

Doxia shook his head and crossed his arms, chuckling, "I really guess I should shape shift into a pony sometime… nah. Screw that."

Pinkie Pie then bounced off the train. She noticed Doxia, Cadence, and Shining Armor and immediately dashed over there.

"Heya Cadence!" she exclaimed enthusiastically as she gave her, and Shining, a hug. Then she glanced up at Doxia and said, "Oooooooohhhh… Hello!"

Doxia grabbed one of her front hoofs and shook it vigorously. "Hey Pinkie!" he exclaimed dramatically, "I am Doxia! I am soooooooo pleased to meet you!"

Pinkie's smile expanded to twice its regular parameters. "And I am sooooooooo pleased to meet you!"

Doxia got down on one knee so that his masked face was only a couple meters above her head.

"Why don't we grab some Crystal Empire ice cream?!" said Doxia enthusiastically, "Then we could totally go off and find that one pony your supposed to cheer up!"

Not questioning anything, Pinkie nodded her head vigorously and bounced up and down. "Yeah! Let's do that! See ya' guys! I'm going to get ice cream with one of my bestest friends!"

Doxia and Pinkie Pie strolled off into the distance, leaving Discord and Rarity in the dust, staring disbelievingly after them.

"Well… that most certainly was NOT the Paradox," mused Discord, "I wonder where a being that looks so much like that psychopathic monster got such a good sense of humor…"

"He was most certainly jocund, I must say," murmured Rarity, a little too shocked to even act shocked.

Cadence smiled at Rarity and pulled out a letter from Celestia. "Princess Celestia told me you were coming," she explained, "I have rooms all ready for you. Discord, I even have one for you."

As Rarity audibly sighed in appreciation and wistfulness, Discord winked at her. "You have a room for little old me? Well, that IS touching, isn't it? I do appreciate it."

Shining beckoned to them. "Come. We'll show you the way. After you two get settled in, we can find Pinkie Pie. Then you three can proceed with the… um… cheering up of Sapphire Anemone."

"Is that her name? Sapphire Anemone? She was the sister of king Sombra, was she not?" asked Rarity, keeping pace with Cadence as they trotted from the train station to the Crystal Empire's castle-spire.

Shining nodded his head as he replied, "Yes. She is probably the only pony not to have regained her luster when the crystal heart was returned. She spends all her time now locked away in her house, refusing to speak with anyone. Why do you guys want to cheer her up again? Celestia never told us that part."

Rarity shook her head. "Oh dear, I am sorry, but she really didn't tell us either. However, if there is a pony in need of being cheered up, than Pinkie Pie is most certainly the pony for the job. As for me… well… I couldn't pass up a chance of meeting you two again."

"I'm just here for a vacation from my vacation," interjected Discord dryly, "You remember Rarity, that wonderful vacation in Bray?"

Rarity shot him a look, but didn't say anything. Discord just grinned.

"Well, in any case, I am glad you could come along, Rarity," said Cadence cheerfully. They then bumped into Doxia and Pinkie Pie, who both had massive ice cream cones.

Pinkie Pie was giving her ice cream huge licks. Doxia, on the other hoof, was staring intently at his ice cream. Then he turned it upside-down and stuck the whole thing on the top of his helmet. Despite the fact that he was now wearing melting ice cream for a hat, he still looked terrifying and intimidating.

Rarity blinked. "Um, excuse me, kind sir," she said timidly to Doxia, "But… um… Who are you?"

"His name is Doxia! He's my bestest friend!" exclaimed Pinkie happily.

Doxia dipped his head in Rarity's direction, causing his ice cream hat to fall of. However, it dissolved into thin air a split-second before it struck the ground. "I am pleased to meet you, Rarity. You are the element of generosity, a powerful virtue."

Rarity grinned in a rather unladylike fashion, still a tad bit cowed by Doxia's presence. "Well, why thank you Mr. Doxia," she said, still a bit flustered.

Doxia nodded to her and turned his head to look at Discord, who was observing him from a distance with an amused air.

"Discord! It's nice to meet you finally! I have heard so many wonderful complaints about your attitude. I mean, some ponies just can't understand how it feels to be so old and powerful, right?"

Discord, who had originally been reserved, broke into a grin. "Oh, of course! It's a tragedy and no mistake! Ponies just don't appreciate a little fun at the hooves of a prank now and then!"

Doxia nodded sagely, "It's a dying art."

"Um, excuse me?" said Cadence, who was warming up to having Doxia nearby, "We really should be going. Pinkie Pie? Could you come along? You, Rarity, and Discord need to settle in so you can all go about cheering up Sapphire Anemone."

Pinkie Pie nodded. "Okie dokie lokie!" she exclaimed, "Bye Doxia! I gotta skedaddle! See you later!"

"She said Loki," chuckled Doxia, "If only she knew."

Then he got up and said, "I probably should be going as well. Shining Armor? Do you mind if I take a stroll about the Crystal Empire spire for a bit? I want to keep searching."

Shining dipped his head slightly, "You may."

Doxia then teleported away, leaving Cadence, Shining, Discord, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie behind.

"He is soooooo awesome!" shouted Pinkie with a bounce.

"Doxia is certainly an interesting character. I rather like him," murmured Rarity, continuing to make her way to the crystal castle.

"Oh, I'm sure EVERYONE likes him," chortled Discord as he floated alongside her; Cadence nodded her head in agreement.

Shining Armor just chuckled, and the group trotted away.

* * *

**Note: Here is a good question! Who is your favorite character in this story (in general), and why?**


	53. Chapter 53 - Time Together

**Note: I made a couple of changes to the guide, just to let you guys know. We're moving on now...**

* * *

_Dimension: My Little Pony_

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Everfree Forest_

_Time: 16 hours after the arrival of Doxia_

Samuel's eyes snapped open. The sun was high in the sky already, and the earth was warm from its heat.

Cursing silently, he shot up and looked around frantically, the sleep he had been enveloped into had most certainly knocked him out for a long time.

"I have to get out of here," he muttered to himself, "Before Luna gets here. Last thing I want is royalty hampering my movements every other second."

He bit his lip as he looked towards Ponyville. Should he go back? There most certainly was cover there, and plenty of places to hide, but there was also the element of laughter, Pinkie Pie. She would definitely catch him and force him to meet every pony that ever existed in Ponyville ever, a nightmare for him.

He then turned his eyes to the Everfree forest. Perhaps he could just go there. He understood from rumors from some ponies in Fillydelphia that the place was full of danger, but what was considered danger to a pony was probably less than nothing to a dimensional traveler… probably.

"To hell with this," grumbled Samuel. He was about to take a step in the direction of the densely foliaged land of the Everfree forest when a voice range out.

"Where are you going?" the voice asked.

Samuel immediately dove to the ground as if a grenade had been tossed from the sky and threw up an invisibility shield around him. However, he had done it in such haste that the retro-reflective material that constituted the shield lost its molecular integrity and drifted apart, exposing him once more.

Unable to do anything, Samuel just covered his eyes, making him look rather foolish.

He heard hoofs land on the ground before him and trot in his direction. The sound stopped just before him. He peeked out from between his hoofs and looked up at the pony before him. It was Princess Luna.

Grumbling to himself, Samuel got up and stood on all fours, facing her.

"What do you want?" he snapped.

Luna blinked at him in bemusement. "I said I was coming to meet you. Did you not hear me?"

"And didn't you hear what I said?" snarled Samuel, "I said not to come and meet me!"

Luna dipped her head slightly apologetically and said, "I did not hear you say that, I am sorry."

Samuel looked at her with confused distress on his face. He had not expected her to say that so openly. "Oh… um… okay," he stuttered.

Luna came over to where he lay on the ground. "Why are you so troubled?" she asked.

Samuel pointedly sidled away from her and replied, "Because my life is terrible, that's why. I am sure you understand since you saw what I was reliving."

Luna thought about it for a moment. Then she sat down and said, in an unladylike fashion, "Do you want to tell me about it?"

Samuel's jaw dropped. What was going on?

"Um… No."

"Are you sure?"

"Um... No."

The two sat side-by-side for a long while, not saying anything. Birds twittered in the trees and a calm breeze blew through the grass, causing everything to wave and shimmer like a static sea of green.

Suddenly, Samuel just started talking.

"I was an orphan for three years, starting when I was five. I stole to survive, and was literally almost killed every single day. It was terrible. I still have nightmares about it. However, a powerful being called the Paradox eventually gave me special powers that allowed me to leave my horrifying life. I did so. However, all I found was more tragedy. I worked myself to death, trying to prove to everyone that I could be more than that 'little poor orphan boy.' Unfortunately, that landed me in trouble, and I was almost killed. Then I broke. I killed the group that I hunting me in the most violent possible. I've been running from those horrors ever since."

Luna listened carefully, her head cocked slightly to one side, an ear pricked in the air.

"And you've been running ever since?" asked Luna quietly.

Samuel turned to look away. "Yes," he said derisively, "I've been running. I am still running."

Luna placed herself in front of Samuel so that he couldn't avoid making eye contact.

"But what are you running from really? From what I have seen and heard, it sounds like you are running from memories!"

"So? What does it matter? Why do I matter? Go back to your castle enjoy your life as the glorious queen of the night!"

"You matter because you are a living, breathing pony. You are alive, and thus you deserve to be shown love and kindness like everyone else!"

"Then why don't you find some other pony that is in need of being showed loved and kindness! Why does this unnecessary attention have to fall on me?"

"Because it looks like you have no one else."

Samuel closed his eyes and looked away.

Luna persisted anyway. "Memories are supposed to help us remember events, morals, and lessons of the past! They do not define who we are right now. You need to let go of your troubles and just live for today and tomorrow, not yesterday," she said kindly.

Samuel blinked as he thought about it.

"I suppose… I suppose…" he muttered.

Luna extended a hoof. "Come," she said sagely.

Samuel shook his head. "No," he replied, "I don't want to go back."

"Why? Why are you so afraid of meeting others?"

"Look at me. I am a monster, even my cutie mark is burned by the acid of my sins."

"What sins? All I see is a young pony just trying to live a life of peace safe from the horrors of his past. That is what you are trying to do, right?"

Samuel sighed again. He then took her proffered hoof and got up. Immediately Luna began to trot off in the direction of Ponyville. Samuel shook his head slowly, but then began to follow her.

* * *

_Dimension: My Little Pony_

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: The Crystal Empire_

_Time: 16 hours after the arrival of Doxia_

"Oh my, this place is absolutely FABULOUS!" exclaimed Rarity with gusto as she cast an appreciative eye over her room.

Cadence smiled at her brightly as she said, "Well, I am so glad you like it."

"Ooooh, this place is most certainly shiny. I'm sure it could even blind a Breezie on an overcast day," chuckled Discord as he floated in the air, looking over Cadence's shoulder.

Cadence sighed and motioned Discord over to his room, in the adjacent apartment. "This is where you will be staying, Discord," said Cadence, "I hope you enjoy it."

"And remember that we could have guards watching your every move," said Shining Armor sternly.

Discord laughed out loud. "You don't trust me? My, my, that isn't quite how one friend would treat another."

Shining just continued to look at him sternly. "What makes you think I consider you a friend?"

Discord just chortled briefly, but kept quiet. He gave Shining a sheepish grin, drifted into his room and shut the door.

Cadence giggled a bit as Shining Armor grumbled to himself. She then turned to Pinkie Pie and said "Your room is right over there. When do you think you can begin?"

"Oh, I don't know," mused Pinkie, "This cheering up business is quite deep! I need plans! I need schematics! I need psychologists! I NEED CUPCAKES!"

She then trotted into her room and dramatically shut the door, leaving Cadence and Shining Armor alone in the hallway.

"Um… bye?" said Cadence awkwardly.

Suddenly Doxia teleported in next to them. He handed both Shining Armor and Cadence crystal necklaces made of beautiful gems and minerals. "Found these lying around in one of the Crystal Empire's underground caverns. Aloha swag anyone?"

Cadence gave Doxia little smile as she used magic to put a necklace first around her neck, and then the other around Shining Armor's.

"Thank you, Doxia, they're beautiful," she said appreciatively.

Doxia nodded as he stroked his chin. "Still haven't found orange juice on the whereabouts of the vials, but I suppose that is to be expected. Shame we're not omnipotent, that would make life a whole lot easier… and a whole lot worse really."

Cadence nodded. "I suppose we will just have to wait for Pinkie Pie."

Doxia suddenly projected a holographic image in front of him. He quickly swiped his hands through it and then said, "Oh, if the timeline goes undisturbed, Pinkie Pie's cheering-up routine should be starting the next couple of hours."

Shining Armor blinked in surprise. "How can you tell?"

"I can scan the timeline for a limited time ahead and behind. It is almost like telling the future. The only issue is that futures change all the time. It's not linear, it's more of a big ball of wibbly wobbly timey wimey stuff, to put it using another's words. Time Lords… they're so funny."

Both Cadence and Shining Armor had literally no idea what he had just said. They just stared at him.

Doxia just chuckled audibly and then said, "Could I trouble you two to have lunch with me?"

"What, you mean we sit down and eat while you stick stuff to your helmet?" said Shining Armor with a hint of humor in his tone of voice.

Cadence exclaimed, "Shining Armor!"

Doxia, however, just laughed. "I suppose so. Yes, I actually don't eat, but foodstuffs do make interesting hats."

Shining Armor couldn't help but begin to laugh. "Why?"

Doxia chuckled and got down on one knee. "My friend," he said, "When you lived as long and done as much as me, you stop asking 'why?' and 'how to?' and start to simply say 'why not?'"

Cadence smiled as she said, "Maybe that's something all of us could learn."

Doxia straightened up as he said, "Perhaps. However, you need to have the wisdom to discern when you should think about doing something, and when you should not when it is absolutely wrong to do it. Fortunately the arrival of the 'why not' questions and the accumulation of wisdom via age go hand-in-hand. Or hoof-in-hoof if you prefer to think about it in that way."

Shining Armor dipped his head respectively in acknowledgment. Doxia may act and talk crazy, but there was more wisdom within him then perhaps Luna and Celestia put together.

There was a pause, then Doxia struck a pose, exclaiming dramatically, "Right! Who wants to have lunch with me?!"

The three laughed together as Shining Armor led them through the grand crystal halls of the castle out onto the streets of the Crystal Empire to a little corner café that he enjoyed.

The café and all its good seats were conveniently vacated by frightened crystal ponies as Cadence, Shining Armor, and Doxia entered the building. They sat down at a nice corner table and began to talk as the waitress stood off to the side, trying to build up enough courage to approach the seemingly unapproachable Dimensional Lord.

"So, has there been any luck in finding… whatever it is you are looking for?" asked Cadence, "Come to think about it, you never really mentioned what was in the mysterious present that you gave Celestia."

Doxia, who had to take up an entire row of seats and sit sideways, replied, "Oh, the present was vials of crystals. These crystals contain a special material that is vital to a mission I am trying to achieve."

"May we ask about the circumstances of this mission?" pried Shining Armor.

"My, my, Prince Shining Armor, you are a nosey one! I cannot tell you too much, since you two would not understand any of it, but I can tell you that I am trying to take down the group responsible for capturing Cadence and replacing her with an imposter."

Shining grimaced, those were not happy memories, considering the fact he had not even noticed the difference thanks to the craftiness of the Paradox's Elite Phasetroopers.

"That does sound important," exclaimed Cadence, "I hope it doesn't take too long for you to find what you are looking for… though I do hope you are enjoying your time here in the Crystal Empire!"

Doxia nodded his head as he replied, "Oh yes, I am enjoying my stay here most certainly. Being able to spend time with two wonderful ponies such as yourselves is quite a treat! However, you two really should start skydiving more."

Shining Armor cocked his head to one side. "Skydiving? What's that?" he asked.

Doxia laughed. "I am so glad you asked! Tell you what, after lunch, I'll show you how it is done."

He then turned and beckoned to the waitress, who was still stiff with fear.

"Come on! Don't be shy! I gave up biting a trillion years ago!"

Something in the kind voice of Doxia gave the crystal pony waitress the bravery that she needed and she tentatively approached the table to take their orders.

After they had ordered, Doxia picked up a glass of water and looked at it.

"You aren't… you aren't going to pour that on your head here, are you?" asked Shining tentatively.

Doxia laughed and put it down. "Oh no, I suppose that wouldn't be a good idea to do it here… in a restaurant. Point taken old lad."

Cadence smiled at him. Then she said, "Why don't you eat anymore?"

Doxia stroked the place on his helmet where his chin would have been as he said, "I suppose… I suppose food lost its taste for me. I mean, I don't have any need to eat, so I guess I really just began to consider it something of a distraction and a time-waster after a bit."

"Breakfast, Lunch, and Supper aren't just for eating though Doxia," said Cadence brightly, "They're also a time for fellowship and family."

Doxia nodded his head slowly. "I suppose so."

"Why don't you ever take off your helmet?" persisted Cadence as the food was brought over by the waitress, who had warmed up to Doxia's presence. He seemed only half as terrifying after talking to him.

Doxia patted the waitresses hoof appreciatively as he took the food. Then he turned to look at Cadence again. "Well… I don't know. In truth, I actually don't have a face anymore. I am more of an entity of light, sound, and energy, floating around. We box ourselves into this armor to keep it contained, though we can also shape shift. I can actually hardly actually remember what I looked like before I became non-corporeal."

"It must be tough, losing your identity over the years," sighed Shining as he began to eat.

Doxia shrugged. He picked up his carrot-dog with mustard and looked at it intently. He then put it down and said, "Well, I may have lost what I originally looked like, but I sure as orange juice didn't lose my personality. Tell you what, one of these days, when this is all over, I will come and find you two and show you what my face really looks like. In fact, I might even have a real lunch as well!"

Cadence smiled brightly as she said, "I look forward to that day."

Doxia picked up his carrot-dog again and tossed it in the air. As it reached its pinnacle in height, it suddenly turned into a flurry of dragonflies that drifted lazily out the open window. Doxia then said, "You two ready to do some skydiving?"

Shining Armor shifted uncomfortably in his seat as he said, "I really have no idea what that means. Does it have to do with diving through the sky?"

Doxia laughed heartily. "Maybe," he said.

He stood up and beckoned to them. Doxia then snapped a finger and a little crystal box full of liquid gold appeared in the air. He put it down lightly on the table. He then conjured up a little piece of paper and a pen. He wrote down a single word, "BELIEVE," and he set it down next to the crystal box. Cadence glanced at Doxia curiously, and Doxia said, "That's for the waitress. Come on! Follow me!"

The three then left the café and Doxia led them quickly out of the Crystal Empire. As they walked, Doxia explained what was going to transpire next.

"Once we find a clear field, I am going to conjure up a hot air balloon. I am then going to raise it to about 1219 meters. Then we jump."

"We… jump…" said Shining, inceduously.

Doxia nodded his head. "Of course! Naturally we will have parachutes, though. After a couple of seconds of free falling, we pull the parachute cords and drift to the ground. It will be fun."

"We… jump…" was all Shining said, again.

Doxia chuckled, but didn't reply. Then he motioned to an empty field that was bare except for a couple of large multi-colored crystal rocks. "Here is a nice… place… to…"

Doxia stopped talking. Slowly he turned around and said, "Michael."

Archangel Michael, in all his brilliance, was hovering right behind them. Massive white wings, face hidden by the shadows cast by his brilliant helmet of gold and silver, golden-armor wrought appendages, light streaming from his belt of truth.

Terrified, Cadence and Shining Armor immediately fell to the ground, with the faces to the earth.

Doxia just stood there, as if he was Michael's equal, if not his better.

"Are you looking for the beacon crystals? Where did you put them?" asked Michael sagely.

Doxia nodded and replied, his tone reserved, "I put them in vials and gave them to Princess Celestia of Equestria of the My Little Pony dimension. She gave them to King Sombra of the Crystal Empire of the My Little Pony dimension. However, the beacon crystal's radiation drove him insane, and he hid them. I am searching for them as of yet."

"It does not look like you are searching for them 'as of yet,' my friend," replied Michael, a tad of iron in his voice.

Doxia laughed heartily, his jocund attitude returning. "That's because I'm going skydiving with some friends right now, Mickey!"

Michaels tone remained emotionless as he said, "Do not call me Mickey, Doxia. Why are you doing this when time is running short?"

Doxa just continued to chuckle. "We are waiting on some others to glean some important information. However, that is just it: we are waiting on some others. Remember that we are not to worry, that is for the Heavens."

"I am an ANGEL of the Celestial Heaven, remember Doxia?" said Michael, "I have been tasked to stop the Paradox, and I intend fully to do just that. Do you know where the beacon crystals are?"

Doxia shook his head, "As I said, no, I do not. They are hidden, but they will not be for long. Why don't you relax for a moment and go skydiving with us!"

Michael shook his head. "No," he said, "I will be off. I need to talk to Samuel Dellor."

Doxia cocked his head to one side. "The dimensional traveler? Is he here?"

Michael nodded and then pinpoints of light began to wreath around him in bands of gold. Then… he was gone.

Chortling to himself, Doxia helped up Cadence and Shining Armor, who were still very stunned by the appearance of the glorious archangel.

"Sorry about that. Business calls, you know. Now let's go!"

* * *

_Dimension: Star Wars_

_Planet: Coruscant_

_Specific Location: The southern sector_

_Time: 21 years before the battle of Yavin. A day after the arrival of Doxia_

Coruscant is an awe-inspiring yet terrifying place. Massive skyscrapers and crowded streets. High in the air, the rich live in penthouses, with personal hover craft that carry them from place to place without ever having to walk the dirty long forgotten streets at the bottom of the totally industrialized planet. As for the poor and the desperate… they are the ones who walk those streets. It was those very streets that Franklin, Daniel, and Wild had to walk.

"Don't you think you'll stand out?" whispered Franklin to Wild as they moved nonchalantly down a crowded street, filled with drunks, mercenaries, and the fallen.

"The Star Wars dimension is notorious for the amount of aliens it has in its galaxies, I am sure I won't be truly noticed here with all the different sentient species," replied Wild.

"Whatever you say, wolf boy," muttered Franklin.

"I do say. I also say stop calling me wolf boy," retorted Wild.

"Stop it you two," whispered Daniel harshly, who had still insisted on being a dragon. However, because of his size, Franklin had convinced him to let him and Wild ride him. After a long argument and some pleading from Franklin, Daniel had agreed.

"That's a fine steed you have there, my friends," said a shady character as they passed by him, "Could I interest you in a trade?"

Daniel swung his head to look at the being as he snarled, "Go to hell."

The person stumbled backwards as if he had been struck by an object and he fled in a panic.

"And here were you, thinking we had to be inconspicuous," chuckled Franklin, "Silly Daniel."

"Shut up Franklin," snapped Daniel, "We need to keep on moving. Wild? Do you have an idea of where we might be going?"

Wild nodded. "I believe so. Last time I talked to Evan Funsch, he was going to hit the interdimensional traitor while he was enjoying some peace and quiet in the penthouse in the great southern sector."

"Then why the hell are we HERE?" burst out Franklin.

"Not so loud… I'll tell you," snapped Wild, "The Penthouse is heavily guarded. Except for one thing: the lower ventilation. We can access the sky-rise apartment that the traitor lives in from here. When we do so, we can work our way upwards. Granted, the security is heavy, but they were all designed to take out this dimension's natives. We are travelers, we should not have too much of a problem."

"You better be still repeating that in retrospect," muttered Daniel. After a moment, he then said, "Okay. Where to?"

Wild hopped off Daniel's broad back and whispered, "Follow me."

Franklin too got off Daniel's back and the three quickly sidled into a narrow side passage. It was a tight squeeze, even for Wild, but the three made it through. The passageway gave way to a dirty clearing that was full of smoke and pipes.

"Okay… if I remember the schematics that Funsch showed me, the ventilation should be right over here…" muttered Wild. He extended a hoof to poke at pipe. Suddenly a laser bolt whizzed out of nowhere and decimated said pipe as he was about to touch it. Wild, Franklin, and Daniel immediately whirled around to face the attacker.

It was a burley, motley man with six armed thugs.

The man raised a laser blaster and said, "No one gave you permission to enter the Syndicate gang's territory! You will pay for this trespassing with your life!"

Franklin just rolled his eyes. "Tell you what," he said, "You can either give us permission for trespassing in exchange for me not killing you, or you can all shoot at me and get yourselves killed. What will it be?"

The man opened up with the blaster. Daniel immediately threw up a protective energy shield, and the laser bolts bounced and reflected off of it. Wild grinned voraciously, and shimmered, dissolving into the shadows. Suddenly black smoke began to billow up and drift towards the enemies, obscuring the attacking gang's view. The smoke then solidified into Wild, who immediately leapt upon the leader, killing him in an instant. Franklin ran at the protective shield and vaulted over it. As he flipped backwards above the wall of energy, he quickly no-scoped a couple of shots off, beheading three of the six gang members. The other three backed up, firing rapidly still, but a pillar of fire shot from Daniel incinerated them.

Wild looked up from the dead leader's throat and shook his head sarcastically. "That was almost so easy it was disappointing," he chuckled.

Franklin looked at Wild warily as he said, "I suppose so, but you just need to calm down now, Wild. We cannot afford having you turn into Feral right now."

Wild's breathing steadied and he nodded. "I suppose you are right," he said. He then searched around the clearing again for a moment. After a pause, he beckoned them over to a vent.

"This vent leads to the penthouse," he said, "Who wants to go in?"

Franklin sighed and said, "You and I should. Daniel, unless you want to shape shift, you can stay here and guard our backs. If we need a rapid and destructive extraction, we will drop you a note."

Daniel nodded his head and said, "I like that idea. Do as you said."

Wild nodded as well. "I like the idea altogether. Let us do it."

Franklin crouched down and pulled the vent off. It screeched as the rusty metal grating was pulled from the wall. Franklin then tossed the vent aside with a loud clanging noise and looked up into the open ventilation pipe. Despite his brilliantly sharp eyesight, he couldn't see more than a dozen meters into the inky blackness.

"Out of the frying pan and into the fire," muttered Franklin as he crawled into the vent and began to climb, with Wild behind him.

* * *

**Note: I am practicing my cliffhangers! By the way, I am probably going to release my new story along side tomorrow's chapter on Wednesday. It is called "Days Gone By," so keep a lookout for it! Anyways, don't forget the R&R stuff! I love reviews!**


	54. Chapter 54 - Hitting the Stop

**Note: It appears that Doxia has a place amongst the "favorite characters" category! Awesome! Anyways... Who is ready for some storytelling time?**

* * *

_Dimension: Amethyst_

_Planet: Capitol Prime_

_Specific Location: Summit Meeting room 8, floor 9853171_

_Time: Unknown_

"Are we going to proceed now?" asked Pictor as he looked expectantly at the Paradox.

The Paradox just shook his head nonchalantly. "We just need to wait a little longer. Another complication has revealed itself."

"Complications? I hate complications. What is it?" snapped Pictor.

"Ever since we discovered that Doxia was only pretending to be hiding in the Star Trek dimension, I've been doing some research into the history between him and the My Little Pony dimension. It appears that that little traitor had something hidden there previously," explained the Paradox calmly.

"That son of a… What is it?" asked Pictor.

Paradox pulled up a holographic projection at his telepathic command and opened up a file. It was a picture of a set of vials with a mysterious crystal contents within them.

"What material is that?" asked Pictor. Commanding the computer system telepathically, Pictor began to run visual diagnostics on the image.

"It appears to be some form of Imagination Energy," said the Paradox, "I am rather unsure, but it seems to be of some importance for him to have hidden it so well."

"Could it possibly be to disable to Dimensional Energy blast that the Great Plan will use to end all of the multiverse? Dimensional Energy and Imagination Energy are like antimatter and matter, they could cancel each other out."

"Perhaps."

"However… there is only a single set of vials with the material within them. That is not nearly enough to disable the blast."

"Perhaps. Look at the edges; see the light energy spectrum distortions? That could imply that the vials are under the influence of one of those spatial-planar expansion phenomena. If that is the case, he could hide a whole planet's worth of Imagination Energy in those vials and only take up that space."

"Or the vials could just be normal vials that are made of transparent, crystalline Kunda stones from the Star Wars dimension. Both have the same distortion effect."

"I suppose there are two possibilities then: either they are vials actually holding vast amount of Imagination Energy crystals to be used to contain the blast that will destroy the multiverse, or they are ordinary containers holding a mysterious substance that I, the Paradox, have failed to recognize after hours of diagnostics."

Pictor just continued to look warily the image. "You've been wrong before, Paradox," he said slowly.

The Paradox just stared blankly at Pictor for a full minute. Then he said, "Very well. We will approach this new situation with extreme prejudice. Doxia is in the My Little Pony dimension as we speak, looking for these vials. As of yet, he thinks we still are searching for him in the Star Trek dimension, and we will keep letting him think that. Archangel Michael, too, is in the My Little Pony dimension. If I know Doxia at all, I think it is safe to assume that both of them are working together to find those vials. What we need to do now help them find it, discover the true nature of what those containers hold, and then, based off that information, plot out the proper way to dispose of the threat. We need to avoid crossing swords with Doxia and Michael at all costs. You, me, and the Phasetroopers most certainly could take on one… but together… that would be far too much."

Pictor nodded his head. "I like this idea. However, we have very few active Elite Phasetroopers occupying the My Little Pony dimension right now, and both Doxia and Michael will be able to spot the deception immediately. We will have to micromanage every little detail of this deception down to a fraction of a millisecond."

"Literally," said the Paradox promptly, "Let us begin the process."

* * *

_Dimension: My Little Pony_

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: The Crystal Empire_

_Time: A day after the arrival of Doxia_

Rarity sighed dreamily as she looked over her roof carefully. She ran a hoof across the crystalline windowsill, and then she tapped the quartz and ruby bedpost of her classy bed.

Then she gasped in appreciating as she opened a side closet to discover a beautiful set of hangers, all made of solid diamonds. She was about to swoon as she discovered a jewel-encrusted crystal mirror on the back of the closet door when Pinkie Pie burst into her room unannounced.

"It is time to go and cheer a pony up!" yelled Pinkie enthusiastically with a huge bounce.

"Why do you need me to go?" said Rarity indignantly, quite reluctant to have to leave her awe-inspiring quarters, "You are the element of laughter! It is your job to… er… cheer ponies up."

"A team is a team is a team," said Pinkie stoutly, "There is no I in 'teim,' I think... or maybe it IS teim? Team… teim… I gotta think about that one. Never mind! Come on! Maybe you could bring along some of your pretty dresses to 'wow' her! That might cheer her up if my party cannon doesn't!"

Discord, at that moment, drifted in and said, "Oh, do let's go Rarity! I have some particular pranks that Sapphire Anemone might find enjoyably… shocking."

Rarity eyed Discord with an air of suspicion for a moment before saying dramatically, "Oh, very well. Let us go!"

Rarity, Discord, and Pinkie pie then trotted into the throne room of the Crystal Empire to find Cadence, but they found the hall empty. After a moment of looking around, Discord said, "Well… it looks like no pony is home. How rude."

Rarity was about to comment as well when the door opened and Cadence, Shining Armor, and Doxia strolled in. Shining was grinning, and Cadence was still chuckling breathlessly. Both ponies' manes were mussed up badly, as if they had been standing in front of a high-powered fan all day.

Discord noticed them and immediately teleported over to where they were. "Well, well, well… what have you three been doing all day?" he drawled, casting an interested eye over the group.

"We were skydiving," said Shining Armor, "I haven't had so much fun for a while."

"And I haven't had that much fun since my visit with Twilight!" said Cadence, grinning in a rather un-royal fashion, "You remember Discord? The time when you got sick?"

Discord crossed his arms belligerently and gave a "humph" indignantly. Then he floated away to the opposite side of the hall.

"I must say, you two do look a sight," commented Rarity in surprise, "Why were you three… er… skydiving in the first place, may I ask?"

"Doxia invited us," explained Shining Armor.

"WOW! You do know how to have a fun time!" said Pinkie to Doxia as she bounced up to him.

Doxia struck a pose, "I do. It's a gift. So, are you three ready to cheer up Sapphire Anemone?"

"We most certainly are," replied Rarity, "We were actually just looking for Cadence so that we could ask for direction to this pony's house."

"I'll take you there myself," said Cadence.

Doxia shook his head. "I'll do it. You and Shining should spend some quality time together now."

Shining Armor gave Doxia a grateful glance and nodded.

Doxia then ushered Pinkie, Rarity, and a slightly disgruntled Discord out of the throne room.

"Follow me! Let's go!" exclaimed Doxia.

The group followed the Dimensional Lord out of the castle of crystal and through the sparkling streets of the Crystal Empire. It was most certainly an odd sight, and everypony moved out of the way to let the formidable form of Doxia pass without any obstructions.

"These ponies seem quite frightened of you, Doxia," commented Rarity as they walked.

Doxia chuckled and nodded. "That's a problem, but they will get used to me after a while if I choose to stay. You three have certainly warmed up to me."

"I suppose so," mused Discord dryly as they continued moving through the streets.

After a little longer, they group arrived at a small crystal house on the outskirts of the Crystal Empire. It certainly stood out because of its absolute lack of luster. The crystal walls were rather tarnished and dull, and several hairline cracks lined the roof.

"Well… whoever lives here could really use some livening up!" said Pinkie happily, not at all fazed by the house's appearance.

Doxia nodded. "You guys do what you have to do. As for me, I need to go; I have some important things I need to do."

Pinkie waved a hoof. "Okie Dokie Lokie!"

Doxia shimmered, and then teleported away, leaving Pinkie with Discord and Rarity.

Rarity glanced at Discord, who rolled his eyes. "Pinkie, I think you should knock, since you are the pony who is going to be working the hardest."

Pinkie bounced up to door and knocked on it.

"Go away," said a voice from inside the house.

Discord threw an arm across his forehead in mock horror. "How did I NOT see that response coming?" he drawled, "The tragedy!"

Rarity shot Discord a look and then said to Pinkie, "Go, knock again."

Pinkie rapped on the door again and said cheerfully, "We're here to cheer you up Sapphire Anemone! Let's hear a cheer!"

There was a pause, then a clicking noise that denoted that the pony inside the building had locked the door. Pinkie blinked. Discord seized Pinkie and snapped a finger. Next thing they knew, he had teleported them inside the house. It was a shabby affair. Everything was dusty and in some form of disrepair. The shutters were closed, and only a couple beams of sunlight, thick with dust particles, were streaming through a crack in a window or two.

There was a pony sitting in a dark corner, disheveled and thin. She had a crystalline orange coat, with sapphire blue eyes and a sapphire blue mane. Her cutie mark was a picture of an anemone (the flower type) made completely out of crystal. Pinkie bounced over to her and exclaimed, "We're here to cheer you up!"

As Discord went to unlock the door, Sapphire glared at Pinkie and replied, "I don't want to be cheered up. I want to be left alone."

Pinkie laughed and threw open the windows, letting light stream into the dark building. As she did so, Rarity trotted in and said, "My, my! You could certainly use some renovations! I will start at once!"

"Why are you three doing this?" snapped Sapphire gloomily as Discord, Pinkie, and Rarity began to clean up the place.

"We were commanded to cheer you up! So we're going to… cheer… you… UP!" replied Pinkie cheerfully.

"Haven't I told you enough times already? I don't want to be cheered up! I want to be left alone," sighed Sapphire.

Discord, dressed like a hotel maid from the 1960's, floated over and said, "You've had enough time to be left alone, my dear. It's been, what, 6 years now? It's time for life to return to your shabby existence!"

"Why are you doing this?" asked Sapphire angrily.

"No reason!" exclaimed Pinkie, "We were asked by Princess Celestia to make you happy again! So we are going to make you happy again!"

Sapphire then just buried her head in her hooves and groaned.

Pinkie leaned close to Discord and whispered, "She's falling out! Quick! Execute code: Party Cannon!"

Discord snapped a finger and Pinkie's infamous party cannon came into being right next to Pinkie. She fired it. Bright streams and clouds of multi-colored confetti blasted to every corner of the room with a loud blast. Immediately the building looked a lot brighter… and a lot more pink.

Discord pulled a face. "Pink really isn't my color…" he muttered as he went back to cleaning the building. In no time it was back to looking like any of the other houses in the Crystal Empire. However, Sapphire Anemone hadn't moved an inch. She still lay on the ground, her face covered by her hooves, with streamers draped across her ears.

Pinkie blinked, a little confused by what was happening. Had she lost her touch? Not only had she failed to cheer up that one green pony the day before, but also she had seemingly failed to cheer up this pony! Rarity chuckled a little, nervously, and began to sidle out of the building. "I see that you need new drapes," she said, flustered, "I… I think I will make some. The color should be sapphire blue with a touch of light cyan, yes?"

When there was no reply, Rarity continued to sidle out of the building until she was outside. Then she disappeared. Discord rolled his eyes for a moment, muttered something about not having enough fun leading to derogative health effects, and then teleported, leaving Pinkie alone with Sapphire.

Pinkie moved up to Sapphire and sat next to her. She poked her with a hoof and said, with her tone lacking its usual happiness, "What can I do to make you happy?"

"I want my brother back," was all Sapphire said, with a sob.

Pinkie's hair flattened with the sound of a deflating balloon, and she sighed. The one thing that could make this pony happy was one of the only things she could not do: bring back loved ones.

* * *

_Dimension: Star Wars_

_Planet: Coruscant_

_Specific Location: The southern district_

_Time: 21 years before the battle of Yavin, a day before the arrival of Doxia in the My Little Pony dimension_

"Are we there yet?" grunted Wild as he inched up the ventilation pipe.

"Now I know how annoyed Daniel was when I was flying with him over the Unicorn Range," muttered Franklin to himself irately. He then called down, "No, God no! I still can't see anything, and I think we've only covered half of the building's height."

Wild sighed. There was a pause, and then he said, "Why didn't we just use our control over the air to fly up there?"

"You've already suggested that, and as I already replied: we can't. This pipe is designed to expel air, and if we start sucking it all in, people will attempt to investigate, something we do not want. We will just have to continue to work our way upwards. You're not getting tired, are you?"

"Of course not."

"Sure."

There was a lapse in the conversation as the two committed to silently inching upwards. Finally, Franklin broke the moment of silence by saying, "Wild, is there a possibility this could all be a trap? I mean, Matthew Tricost knew exactly where we were, doesn't that mean others could too?"

Wild laughed quietly and said, "Possibly. But it doesn't really matter. I, like you, do not fear death anymore, so we just need to proceed and hope for the best. When we get up there, we will most likely be there before Evan Funsch arrives. I calculated our arrival to be a couple of minutes before he breaches security himself. What we need to do is get in there and assassinate the traitor first. It will be against the code, but we have no other choice. When Funsch arrives, we can explain what is going on. If Funsch is like the Funsch of old, he will agree to help us."

"All I hear is a giant 'IF,' Wild," sighed Franklin, "But I suppose that is all we have: unknowns. Oh well, I suppose it's not relevant."

"Yes, I suppose it's not relevant," snorted Wild. There was another pause, then Wild said, "Look at us, crawling up a vent looking for someone to help us find someone to help us find someone. And guess who our adversary is? It's the freaking Paradox. We are soooooo screwed, and what I think is even worse is that I couldn't care less. I think I've gone numb to it all."

Franklin sighed and said, "Same here. I really don't like this outlook, but we live in desperate times. We need to do what we need to do, principles and morals aside."

"Not exactly the kind of heroes that we thought we would be, huh?" said Wild with a guttural chuckle.

"This isn't a freaking fairy tale, so of course not. Doing evil to do good, and doing that over and over again. We are totally going to hell for this all."

"At least we will know we died trying to do the right thing."

"If I need a therapist, I'll call, Wild. Right now we need to decide how we are going to go about the plan. You were with Funsch when he planned this little fiasco, do you know the best way to approach this situation?"

"Ironically enough, I do. When we enter the penthouse, there are four sharpshooters stationed on four balconies in the corners. They usually look outwards, but they have camera-fed live feeds in their helmets HUDs, so we can either attempt to take out the four guards and the security tower, or attempt to take out the hundreds of hidden cameras."

"I advocate for killing the sharpshooters."

"I do too. I'll take the security tower, which is in a Beskar-laced steel vault. I can use my shadow abilities to take out the guard in there while you out-snipe the four snipers. Once that is over with, we will need to work past the seven grids of motion-sensing lasers. We touch a single beam, and the alarms in the entire building will go off and hidden turret emplacements will go live. However, that's the easy part. We need to get past a hundred-meter thick vault door that is sensitive to touch. We need to find a way to break into it without actually touching it. Once we're past there, we will have to deal with the two trained bodyguards that are stationed in the bedroom. Kill them, and we're home free."

"Well… This will be fun. Why would one person need so much protection in the first place?"

"He knows that he's a traitor, so he used his connections he had made previously here so that he could be safe from people like Funsch… and us."

Franklin then noticed that the time had passed a little quicker than he had expected, and that they were only a couple of meters away from the correct ventilation grid. It was crisscrossed with red beams of motion-sensing light. Franklin crawled passed it and signaled Wild to take a look at it. He did so for a moment, then he nodded at Franklin and whispered, "I can disable it."

He then extended a hoof. Shadow energy crackled around it like black electricity. The shadow powered counteracted the light beams, and cancelled each other out. The beams of motion-sensing light simply ceased to exist, and the security machine didn't register anything. Wild eased open the metal grid as he opened a telepathic link with Franklin.

"The moment we're out in the open, go outside. You can use your sniping skills to shoot all four sharpshooters while I go to the security vault," said Wild over the link.

Franklin was about to reply when the grid slipped and clanged to the floor loudly. The noise echoed through the entire room. Wild exploded into shards of shadows and vanished into the dark corners of the room. Franklin simply dropped down until his head was about a meter below the opening. As expected, a sharpshooter from an adjacent balcony entered the room. Holding a laser pistol, he scoped out the entire room. Then he noticed the fallen grid. He reached up with an armored hand to tap the intercom connected to his ear when he gave a soft, gurgling gasp. He fell over, a chunk of flesh missing from the back of his neck. Wild was crouching behind him, shadows trailing around his hooves. Franklin pulled a face at the gruesome sight, but pulled himself into the room anyway. Nodding silently to Wild, he donned the sharpshooter's top vest and put on the helmet. He then strolled nonchalantly onto the balcony as Wild dissolved into shadows once more.

Franklin sidled into his position on the balcony, trying to look covert. As he did so, the sniper on the opposite balcony called out, "What happened in there, Atarus?"

Franklin shrugged his shoulders wordlessly. The sharpshooter nodded and then began to scan the streets below with his sniper rifle. That was the last thing he ever did. Franklin whipped out his own sniper rifle and blew the other man away with a headshot. It was silent and precise; the sharpshooter fell back wordlessly, and collapsed against the railing. The shot was so well timed and aimed that it simply looked like he was leaning against the balcony, taking a breather.

Franklin began to scope out his surroundings. He could tell by the shadows cast to his left that the third sniper was right around the corner of the penthouse, on another balcony like the one he was standing on. Looking around quickly, Franklin scanned his surroundings again for a way to get at his target. He then noticed the angle of the passing hover crafts. A plan formed in his mind: if he loaded one of his rubber encased, titanium-tipped, curare-laced bullets and fired it at a passing vehicle, it would rebound. If he did this with perfect timing and perfect aim, it would bounce off the flat surface of a passing hovercraft and go straight into the throat of his target. Giving a deep sigh, Franklin loaded one of the special bullets into his sniper rifle. He took aim, and stood there for a good five minutes, waiting for the perfect time. Suddenly a flat-sided hover bus passed at the perfect angle as it prepared to make a right at an air-intersection. Franklin seized his chance and fired the bullet, the plan worked out flawlessly, and the shadow of the target sharpshooter tumbled over, denoting the fact that the target had indeed been hit with lethal accuracy. Sighing again, Franklin glanced upward. According to Wild's description of the place, he knew that the final target lay in wait on the absolute opposite side of the building. To get at him, he would need to find a way around without entering the penthouse, this meant hijacking a vehicle quietly. He glanced below him: a trail of hover vehicles caught in traffic passed sluggishly below him. It was a perfect setup, but he needed the right vehicle and the right driver for him to hijack something without an issue. Again he sighed and took a knee, waiting for the perfect time. Once again, five minutes later, he noticed a small hover bike, with a drunk driver, skidding along below. Not thinking twice, Franklin leapt from the balcony and landed straight on the driver, knocking him off. The driver didn't even scream as he fell off and landed on top of a hover bus, a few meters below him. Franklin ran his hands over the bike as he desperately tried to make sense of the controls, but to no avail. Soon a line of other hover vehicles began to gather behind him, and he noticed a security guard eyeing him sucpiciously a distance away. Growling in frustration, Franklin opened his traveler's database and checked how to drive the specific bike. He scanned the files quickly and then typed in the acceleration code into the bike. It growled to life once more and he sped away. Grabbing the controls, he eased it upwards and he inconspicuously drifted out of the line of traffic and into the sky. He then pulled a sharp turn and headed back to the penthouse, as he passed over it and the target balcony; he flipped off and fell down. Just as he was about to land on the balcony with the sharpshooter, he fired his sniper at point-blank range, practically beheading his enemy. He caught the sniper gently and leaned him against the railing, next to his rifle.

Chuckling in relief to himself, Franklin contacted Wild telepathically and said, "I did it. How goes you?"

Suddenly the form of Wild solidified from the shadows near him, and the wolf/pony emerged.

"I was wondering if I was going to have to take him out myself, Franklin," said Wild curtly.

Franklin rolled his eyes and said, over the intercom, "Yeah, whatever. Let's move."

They strolled, almost nonchalantly, into the building once more. The second they did so, they were surrounded by hostile forces. Twelve heavily armored soldiers with power blaster guns. The two guards in front parted ranks to reveal the target traitor and Matthew Tricost.

"Well, look who's here," said Matthew with a grin, "Guess you two just couldn't resist looking for trouble. Too bad this is it."

* * *

**Note: I put up my second story, "Days Gone By," just in case anyone was wondering. Now, I had a question... Would anyone object to another set of "Recollections" chapters? I decided that I should do some explaining about the events that transpired in between the death of Miranda and the arrival of Doxia. Anyone object to that? Yes? No? Cool. Now give me the reviews that I so dearly crave!**


	55. Chapter 55 - Threats

**Note: Sorry for ****posting this so late! I had some things I had to do. Okay, so I got a fairly even amount of "yes" and "no" replies to putting up more "Recollections" chapters... Sooooooo... I suppose I will have to think about it for a bit. In the meantime, enjoy the latest chapter!**

* * *

_Dimension: My Little Pony_

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Ponyville_

_Time: A day after the arrival of Doxia_

Samuel pressed his ears against his skull and skulked behind Luna as they trotted into Ponyville. Samuel had fully expected to have been accosted by the pink party pony Pinkie Pie when they had entered the town, but nothing had happened. Seeing his surprise and assuming correctly the reason for the said surprise, Luna said, "Pinkie Pie is not here right now. She is off on a mission in the Crystal Empire."

Samuel blinked in acknowledgement and then looked away begrudgingly. He still didn't understand why Luna had taken such an interest in him, and hated her for it.

"Where are we going?" he said irately as they continued through the town. As he said so, he recoiled from an interested glance from Vinyl Scratch as she was passing by as if her vision had been laced with acid.

"We are going to Flaming Star. He should know what to do with you," replied Luna briskly, ignoring the surprised glances that were cast her way.

"Flaming Star? The firstborn… great," snorted Samuel derisively as he continued to skulk behind Luna.

"You know of him?"

"Sort of. I've been trying to avoid him like I've been trying to avoid everyone else."

As they passed by, Sweetie Bell and the Cutie Mark Crusaders passed by.

"Oh wow! Princess Luna!" exclaimed Sweetie Bell, "It's nice to see you here! Thanks for helping me out with those dolphins in that dream!"

Luna smiled and passed on by. Samuel tried to sneak by as well, but was immediately noticed by Scootaloo.

"Woah… Who are you?" she asked enthusiastically.

Samuel winced at the new amount of attention being heaped upon him, but he said, "I'm a no pony. Just ignore me."

Scootaloo then noticed his cutie mark – why must this sound so feminine? – And said, "Cool! You're ANOTHER dimensional traveler! What did I tell you, Apple Bloom? This is practically a hot spot for those guys now ever since that Paradox thingy showed up at the Tree of Harmony!"

Samuel sighed as Apple Bloom exclaimed, "Yeah, I suppose yer right. What are you doin' here, mister?"

"Please, don't call me mister," replied Samuel, "in fact don't call me anything at all. Right now I am being held hostage by Princess Luna here, so I really must be going."

He glanced at Luna, who understood that the attention was making him quite uncomfortable. She nodded and said to the CMC, "We really must be going now, little ones."

She turned tail and trotted off again, with Samuel following.

"What's yer name?!" yelled Apple Bloom in a last ditch attempt to learn something about the mysterious pony.

Samuel sighed and called back, "My few friends in Fillydelphia called me Caustic Rain!"

He then rounded a corner with Luna. The moment the CMC were out of sight, he exhaled deeply and said, "I really hope that doesn't happen again."

"It will not… we're here," said Luna promptly coming to a stop in front of Flaming Star's house. Samuel hadn't been looking where he was going, so he ran head first into her backside. He fell hard to the ground. He then staggered up, mumbling an apology of some sort, and shook his head to clear it. At that moment Twilight trotted out.

"Hello Princess Luna!" she said in surprise, "What are you doing here?"

"I am here to bring this young pony to see Flaming Star, Princess Twilight Sparkle," replied Luna, indicating Samuel with a glance.

Samuel grimaced but said, "Pleased to meet you."

Twilight gave him a huge smile and called into the house, "Dear! Somepony is here to see you!"

Flaming Star promptly trotted out of the house at the sound of his fiancée's voice. He immediately noticed Luna and Samuel.

"Greetings, Princess Luna," he said, "Who is this?"

"This is Samuel Dellor, or as we called him here before, Caustic Rain."

"Samuel Dellor? That work-crazy traveler? Er… I mean… hi!" said Flaming Star, a little confused.

Samuel just looked away, grumbling.

Flaming Star trotted off the porch of his house and stopped directly in front of Samuel, making it difficult for him to avoid eye-contact. He then said, "Samuel? What are you doing here? What is going on?"

Samuel sighed and sat down, saying, "Well, I lived here myself for a couple of years in Fillydelphia. I kept mostly to myself and hid my infinity-shaped cutie mark. However, after Sunset Shadow showed up and fought Abbadon, I thought the heat was on, so I left with my friend Tiffany. However, we were almost immediately caught in the crossfire of an interdimensional gang war with some demons, and Tiffany was killed. I would have been killed by a group demons myself if I hadn't been saved by Archangel Michael, who showed up out of nowhere. He then told me to come back here. I was then found by Princess Luna and brought here."

Flaming Star took in the information calmly, though his eyes had widened for a spell when Archangel Michael had been mentioned. He then nodded his head, almost sagely, as he said, "I see. Well, do you know where Archangel Michael is as of now? Do you know what he is doing?"

"I don't know where he is, but he did mention something about preparing to wage war against the Paradox or something stupid," snorted Samuel, "Can you believe it? Heaven against the Paradox, our leader? This is crazy. The only reason I did what he said was because he had just saved my life… and… well… because he's a freaking Archangel."

"Samuel," said Twilight Sparkle softly, "The Paradox IS evil. He tried to kill me and destroy everything."

"She speaks the truth," said Flaming Star, "I, Sunset Shadow, and the Brothers in Arms corps are right now staging a rebellion against the Paradox, and are in danger by doing so. Did you check your recent updates on your traveler's database?"

"I rarely check that idiotic and useless thing," said Samuel derisively as he opened it up and projected it front of his face. He then spotted the "wanted" update. He read it quickly and nodded his head.

"That's a valuable prize," he commented airily, actually in no way tempted by the reward for turning against the firstborn and his friends, "Are you worried?"

Flaming Star shook his head. "Not necessarily yet," he said, "We, as of yet, have… backup."

There was then an awkward pause that lasted a couple of minutes. Finally it was broken by Twilight who said, "Samuel… or, er, Caustic Rain… do you have a place to stay?"

"Please, call me Caustic Rain, that is what I respond to more since my time in the My Little Pony dimension," said Samuel, or Caustic Rain. Then he replied to the question by saying, "And… no. I do not have a place to stay, but I don't really expect to be here for long…"

"You could stay with me, Caustic Rain," interjected Flaming Star, quickly warming up to the new name.

Caustic Rain shook his head and said, "Oh, no, I think I will be fine…"

"He will be fine, thank you," interrupted Luna, "He will be staying with me."

There was a long pause.

"He is?" asked Flaming Star.

"He will be?" said Twilight.

"I will?" gaped Caustic Rain.

Luna nodded her head calmly. "You will. Come, we must go."

Caustic Rain immediately thought up a thousand different types of excuses, and was about to tell her to go to hell when he thought about the offer seriously for a moment. After a split-second of really struggling with his emotions, he sighed deeply and said, "Very well. I will go with you."

Luna blinked in acknowledgment, indicating that she had fully expected that response, and beckoned to Caustic Rain. Caustic Rain, a little numb mentally because of the news he had just received, followed her in a state of shock. Naturally he had heard of the great Princesses and their home in Canterlot Castle, and had seen the Princesses' pictures in the newspapers and on the Equestrian Internet, but he had never dreamed of meeting them… or even wanted to. And now he was following Princess Luna to Canterlot where he would be staying… Absolutely ridiculous and unreal.

He shook his head and sped up his canter so that he was soon moving through Ponyville side-by-side with Luna. As he did so, he said, "Why are you doing this? Why do you care so much about my wellbeing?! Why don't you just go bother some pony else?!"

Luna sighed as she said, "I worry about you, Caustic Rain. The things that you have suffered are unnerving, and they have changed you in terrible ways. I want to fix that… before you become something else… before you become something evil."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"I became evil once because the seeds of discontent and anger had been sown within me as well. I can see those very sprouts bursting within you… but I can stop it."

"Has it ever occurred to me that I don't want your help?"

"It has, but I will not let it stop me. You are coming to stay with me in Canterlot castle, and I think you will do very little to stop that."

Caustic Rain opened his mouth to retort harshly when he realized that she was right: he was mad, and he hated her for what she was doing, but he probably couldn't stop following her even if he tried. He closed his mouth tightly for a moment, and was about to open it again when a blast of pure light blossomed forth before him and Princess Luna on the road they were trotting towards where she had her chariot parked. It was Archangel Michael. Despite the absolute awe and terror that any angel of the Celestial Heaven inspired, Luna fought her urge to flee and actually placed her defensively between Michael and the absolutely stunned Caustic Rain.

"You are protecting Samuel, young mare… I am deeply impressed by your care and bravery," commented Michael lightly, not even close to being fazed by Luna's weak but heartfelt attempt to protect Caustic Rain.

Caustic Rain recovered from his momentary bout of shock and shook his head vigorously to clear the bright spots blinking in his vision. He trotted up to Luna, who was still eyeing Michael and looked at her. She had literally confronted an angel to protect him, and it touched him more than he had probably been touched before in his life. He put a hoof on her shoulder and whispered, "Thank you."

He then turned to look at Michael and said, "Sorry, I was a little shocked by your sudden arrival. What is it that you need?"

Michael didn't immediately respond. He was still looking at Luna with an air of interest and compassion. "Stay with that young mare, Samuel, she is more wonderful than you yet know, I can see it."

He continued to look at Luna with an interested air as his angelic eyes blazed into her from the shadows of his great gold and silver helmet. He was still looking at her curiously when he said to Caustic Rain, "You go by Caustic Rain now, do you not? It is not relevant, I suppose. I want to let you know that there are about four Elite Phasetroopers running amok on the planet, three of the here in Equestria. The Paradox probably knows by now that I have arrived from the heaven dimension, and will try to perceive my intensions using his agents placed here. I need you to keep a lookout as you continue to dwell here. I will return momentarily to Heaven to report my current findings, but I will most certainly be back. You will be my ambassador between Heaven and the mortals. Do you understand?"

Caustic Rain shook his head as he said, "Why me?"

"Why not you?" said Michael, "You perhaps have your shortcomings, but Heaven has chosen you to do it. I will not slow you any longer…"

Michael suddenly was surrounded by bands of light energy that encompassed his whole body. Then he was gone.

Caustic Rain was about to turn around when a portal opened up and Doxia stepped through. Once again Luna readied herself to protect Caustic Rain. Once again, the entering being was impressed by her heart-felt attempt to defend her ward.

Doxia looked at Luna for a moment, a little surprised that anyone ever would be idiotic enough to try and pose a threat to a Dimensional Lord. Then he said, "Lulu… It's me. Doxia."

Luna's eyes suddenly widened, and she rushed forward to hug him with an exclamation of pure joy. Doxia held the hug for a moment, and then let go.

"Where have you been all these years Doxia?" exclaimed Luna, her eyes wide with joviality, "I have missed the times we explored Equestria!"

"I've been really busy, trying to defeat the Paradox single-handedly and all," Doxia replied, "I'm really glad that some pony is happy to see me. I visited your sister earlier, and she was all like, 'Guards! Stop him!' and stuff like that."

"Well, my sister was never one for your roguish behavior, Doxia," said Luna with a tad of amusement in her tone of voice.

Doxia chuckled, "Yes, I suppose so. But you were ALL about it when you were little, and that's what made you so fun!"

Caustic Rain piped up at that moment. "Um… excuse me?" he interjected, "But… who are you? Are you… the Paradox? No, you don't sound like him."

Doxia turned to Caustic Rain and said, "Oh! Hey! Wassup? My name is Doxia. I am a former member of the Paradox's brotherhood. We're called Dimensional Lords. You are Samuel Dellor are you not? Ah… you were originally called Caustic Rain here, though."

Caustic Rain snorted as he said, "My God… Was EVERYONE watching me when I hid out here a couple of years ago?"

Doxia nodded in mock agreement. "We most certainly were. Your daily life was broadcasted across 153 different radio and TV stations in a reality show. It had higher ratings then Hasbro's… well… you know."

Caustic Rain gaped at Doxia. What had he just said?

Doxia then began to laugh. "I'm just kidding! Sorry. I just wanted to ask you if Michael was just here. He said he needed to talk to you, right?"

Luna answered for Caustic Rain. "He was," she said, "However, he left, saying that he needed to report back to the Celestial Heaven."

Doxia nodded slowly. "Okay. That is fine. It seems that he has chosen you to be something of an ambassador, though, Caustic Rain, so I would appreciate it if you could give me call if he shows up again. We are collaborating on something important right now, and I will need Heaven's full cooperation when the time comes."

Caustic Rain nodded wordlessly. He had only been there for a day, and already he had been visited by two of the most powerful beings in all of the multiverses.

"Thank you my young lad!" exclaimed Doxia dramatically as he opened a portal back to the Crystal Empire a meter away, "I shall now be off!"

With that, he exited. Both Luna and Caustic Rain just stood on all fours in the road for a moment or two. Then Caustic Rain turned to Luna and said, "You… you were protecting me. Thank you… I mean…"

Luna nodded her head gently. "You are my ward now, Caustic Rain, I will not let harm come to you when I am about."

Caustic Rain smiled wordlessly. He decided that he should take Michael's advice and continue to follow her.

"Follow me to the chariot, we will be in Canterlot in a thrice," Luna said as she continued down the road.

* * *

_Dimension: Amethyst_

_Planet: Capitol Prime_

_Specific Location: Summit Meeting room 8, floor 9853171_

_Time: Unknown_

Pictor entered the room with several holographic projections hovering around his helmet. He strolled into the meeting area and sat down in a chair, but was too busy multitasking for a moment to notice that the Paradox, too, was in the room, staring off into space through the large crystal window. After a couple of minutes, Pictor did notice, however, and was about to say something when the Paradox began to talk calmly.

"You know why we're going to win?" said the Paradox calmly, though his voice was obviously laced with deadly intent.

Pictor eyed the Paradox warily. He understood that his leader was absolutely insane, so he was always careful when he discussed anything with him. "Because the Great Plan is so complex and well set?" he said slowly.

"No. It is because we can cut corners."

"What do you mean?"

"When I recruited beings as dimensional travelers, I instilled in them a sense of righteous purpose. I told them that if they did what was good, right, and heroic, they would live to see themselves victorious over the evil that they were destined to fight. To them, it seemed like I was giving them the tools that would pave their way to a gloriously moral victory, but in reality I was dooming them to absolute defeat."

"I still don't understand."

"You see… With principles, you are obligated to take the hard way. You need to do things that easily place you and your mission in jeopardy. For example: I could be confronted by Flaming Star and Princess Twilight Sparkle, and Flaming Star could be a moment away from destroying the Crystal of Harmony. All I would need to do is point a weapon at Twilight's head, and I would be safe. Flaming Star would have to back off, and his mission would end in shambles. And then you know what I would do next? I would shoot both Flaming Star and Twilight viciously, killing them instantly. The Great Plan would proceed as normal, and two potential enemies would be dead in pools of life blood at my feet."

"Why are you talking about this?" snapped Pictor, still unsure of the reason for the Paradox's ramble.

The Paradox ignored him, still looking off into the distance. "Heroes and their principles… damn them all. The only reason they ever won anything was either by sheer luck, or the help of the Celestia Angels… who seem to have some stupid appreciation for such foolish morals. And if it is neither of these, it is because the so called 'heroes' have only won because they have given into their basest and most primitive emotions of fear or desperation. But, nevertheless, in the end they will fail ultimately. In the end, it is pure brutality, pure cunning, and pure immoral objectiveness that wins. And that is what we are, we are the brutal, we are the cunning, we are the objectiveness that adds the cold, heartless steel of the understandings of life and death in this multiverse. We are gods… why should we not determine who lives and who dies? We have the ability and the understanding... We deserve to be able to kill at a moments notice. We should not even have to think twice about it. And that… my friend… is why we will win."

"Is there a reason why you are talking about this, Paradox?" persisted Pictor again.

Finally the Paradox snapped out of his trance. He glanced quickly at Pictor and said, "There is a reason. For my plan to proceed, I need several things to play out just right. However, for now, I need you to do something relatively important, Pictor."

Pictor sighed. He then straightened up and said, "What is it that you need?"

Without looking at Pictor, the Paradox said, "I need you to goad Doxia into fighting you. Nothing terribly huge, but I need you to fight him long enough for footage to be shot. With this, I can brand Doxia as a rogue, and we can sway a couple more Dimensional Lords into mindlessly helping us… which is exactly what we need. Additionally, with Doxia gone fighting you, and Archangel Michael returning to the Celestial Heaven, we will be safe to star relocations and using our Elite Phasetroopers stationed in Equestria.

"Dimensional Lord Mattimeo will see right through the deceptions, Paradox," snapped Pictor harshly, "He's been Doxia's best friend, along with Meadolax, for a trillion years now. It will not work."

"You will find Mattimeo no longer here, Pictor," said the Paradox airily, "He's been sent on an important mission on the other side of the multiverse. We will not be worrying about him for a little longer. However, this is a reason why you must hasten with your task."

Pictor grumbled momentarily as he struggled with himself. It went against literally every nerve to agree to openly combating Doxia, who was pretty much the most powerful Dimensional Lord in existence at the moment, but it seemed the only way to sway more Dimensional Lords to the Paradox's side without raising any suspicions about the Great Plan.

After a long pause, Pictor finally said, "Very well. I will do it immediately."

* * *

**Note: You know what would be really awesome? If someone decided to take a chunk out of their weekend to read all 55 chapters and do a review per chapter run-through. 55 reviews! Well, I'll stop projecting upon you all my wistful thinking now. Anyways...**


	56. Chapter 56 - Combat

**Note: Sorry for posting so late! I was on a jet for forever. Yes, it is my spring break! However, I will still post chapters regularly! Anyways... This is the longest chapter I've written yet! And guess what? This chapter is absolutely jam-packed with action! I really hope you guys enjoy this one! If you do, please leave me a review! I would appreciate it!**

* * *

_Dimension: Star Wars_

_Planet: Coruscant_

_Specific Location: The southern sector_

_Time: 21 years before the battle of Yavin, a day after the arrival of Doxia in the My Little Pony dimension_

Franklin put his hands up slowly as he said, "Well… how did you guys find me?"

"Are you really that stupid?" snapped Tricost, "Your database. The moment it goes live, we know exactly where you are."

Franklin blinked. "Ohhhhhh… I guess I probably shouldn't have googled how to drive a hover bike then. Oops."

Tricost blinked at them. There was a pause, and then he snapped a finger. "Kill them."

Suddenly Wild exploded into a massive cloud of pure shadow. It pressed chokingly close around everyone, and blinded all within the mist of black. Franklin seized the moment. Slamming a fist to the ground, he expended a massive amount of energy releasing a shockwave of pure energy. It sizzled through the air, and beheaded all but the traitor and Tricost. Immediately Wild solidified again and leapt upon Tricost, baring his teeth at the dimensional traveler's throat. The traitor turned around and prepared to run, but Franklin shot the man in the right leg, severing his sinews and tendons in a single attack. The man screamed and fell to the floor. Franklin slowly approached the man, and was about to say something to him when he heard a crunching noise: Wild had torn out Tricost's throat. Franklin's own throat caught in horror. Slowly he turned around to look at the mauled form of Tricost, with Wild over him… but Wild was no longer there. He was now Feral, the mad wolf-side version of himself. The taste of blood had thrown him over the edge or self-control. Growling low, the pony-now-turned-wolf turned to gaze upon Franklin with rabid eyes.

Franklin slowly began to back up, unsure of what to do against his enemy. He knew for a fact that he couldn't take on Feral in such close corners. He was a sniper, not a brawler, so he lacked in a position where his new enemy excelled. Franklin cursed silently as he backed up, his palms facing skyward in the universal sign of peace.

"I don't want to hurt you, Wild… I mean Feral," said Franklin, desperately trying to appear calm, "Just take a few deep breaths and come back to your sense."

Feral stopped for a moment, as if he was actually considering what Franklin had just said. Then he hissed in a deep, deathly quiet voice, "Too late."

Snarling, Feral leapt towards Franklin's throat to tear it out. However, as Feral flew through the air, time seemed to slow down. Suddenly, Evan Funsch dropped his invisibility shield from nowhere and hurled himself at Feral. As he, too, flew through the air, he conjured up a large battle mace of steel. Just as he passed over Feral's head, he brought the mace crashing down upon the wolf's head, knocking him out cold. He then somersaulted in the air and landed on his feet. He tossed the mace aside and strode up to Franklin.

"That was a close one," Funsch said. Franklin blinked, despite the state of things, Funsch seemed completely calm… he was even chewing bubble gum.

Franklin shook his head wordlessly and approached the unconscious form of Feral, who was slowly transforming back to his regular, more reasonable, self, Wild. Kneeling down, Franklin checked Wild's pulse, and then pulled back an eyelid to make sure his unseeing eyes were not dilated. Satisfied that Wild was in no way seriously hurt, Franklin turned back to Evan and said, "Thanks for the save."

Funsch, who was standing over the traitor, turned around and said, "No prob. Give me a sec." He then turned around and shot the traitor in the face with a laser pistol, killing him before he even had a chance to plead for mercy. Franklin shut his mouth tight in shock… had every traveler turned into a heartless killer?

Funsch checked the pulse of the man to make sure he was dead, and then turned back to nod his head to Franklin, "Franklin, tell my why you, Wild, and Daniel are here, please. We don't have much time before reinforcements arrive."

Franklin nodded his head slowly, but instead asked, "You know Daniel is here?"

Funsch nodded, "I knew you all were here the second you entered the southern sector and started to climb the ventilation. Clever. I decided it would be best if you two took out all the guards, making it easier for me to finish off the traitor without him ever contacting the Paradox or another traveler."

"You used us as bait, basically," said Franklin flatly.

Funsch nodded his head once more. "I suppose you could put it that way. However, I am sure there is another reason other than proffering yourselves up as bait for you guys to be here. Care to explain?"

Franklin sighed. "Yes. We are looking for Finnian Jones."

Funsch just chuckled derisively as he said, "Nope. Sorry. I can't help you three find a fairy tale. He doesn't exist."

At this moment, Wild groaned and opened his eyes. He was back to normal.

"What happened?" Wild asked.

"You killed Tricost and then turned into Feral," Franklin explained as he helped the pony on to all fours, "You then attacked me, but Evan Funsch saved me by knocking you out. Are you okay?"

Wild rubbed the back of his head ruefully as he replied, "Yeah. I suppose. Greetings Funsch, sorry we had to meet in such a way."

"Same here," said Funsch curtly. He then looked at Franklin and said, "Is there anything else you wanted to see me for other than that? Because if that is it, I need to get going."

"There is," said Franklin, "I said we needed you to help us find Finnian Jones, but you would not need to help us search directly. We actually just need to know where the Dimensional Traveler Transformer Jetfire is."

"Oh, okay," said Funsch slowly, "I see. I actually do know where Jetfire is, but it will probably be difficult to find him."

Wild cocked his head to one side and said, "How so?"

"Jetfire has gone into incognito mode within his home dimension. It will be very difficult to locate him," explained Funsch.

"Care to help us?" said Franklin hopefully.

Funsch just stood there for a full minute, chewing his bubble gum. Then he said, "Yes. I will help you. This guy was my last target before I planned to go into hiding from the Paradox and his evil plans with Jared DeWhite in his home dimension. However, if you guys are looking for Finnian Jones, and are on the wanted list of the Paradox, than no doubt you guys are planning some sort of fiasco against the Paradox, so I'm in."

Both Wild and Franklin nodded their heads gratefully. Franklin was then about to comment on their next move when the window behind them shattered, and several strike troopers from the Coruscant protection guard jumped through, guns ablaze. Wild threw up a wall of shadow, blocking the attack. He then hurled the wall straight at the attackers. The wall collided with the troopers and blasted them, and most of the wall behind them, out into the street below. However, soon more troopers were jumping through the hole, firing shots.

"We're going to have to jump!" yelled Franklin over the din of battle, "Funsch! You with me?"

Funsch was expertly picking off the attackers as he said loudly, "Sure! Whatever."

Franklin opened a telepathic link with Daniel and said, over the intercom, "Okay dragon boy! Time for your extremely quick and extremely devastating extraction!"

"Acknowledged," came Daniel's voice, "And don't call me dragon boy."

"Wild!" shouted Franklin, "Clear a path to the window! We need to jump!"

Wild nodded wordlessly and exploded into shard of shadow. Black tendrils then shot forward and wrapped around the troopers blocking their path, disarming them and hurling them aside like leaves in an autumn wind. Franklin signaled to Funsch and they rushed the space where the window had once been. They shot through it and jumped, immediately going into a freefall, with the street thousands of feet below. The moment they made it thorugh, Wild solidified from shadow once more and he jumped as well.

The three fell in perfect formation, headlights of hover cars, windows full of light, and flying street lamps all flashed by them in a colorful stream of light and noise as they blasted through the cold night wind to the ground far below. Suddenly the massive form of Daniel appeared as he caught them on his back. Spreading his wings, Daniel then shot through a small passageway formed by two adjacent buildings and took off into the night sky. Immediately several trooper cruisers took chase.

"Poor choice, my friends," said Franklin grimly. He flipped out his sniper rifle and turned around. He immediately scoped out his targets: the drivers of the five cruisers giving chase. In seconds he had fired off five bullets. All five shots found their marks, and the cruisers began to spin out of control, hurling laser bolts randomly off into the air as they began to spiral to the streets. A few simply crashed into building sides and exploded into bright plumes of flames, illuminating the dark sky.

"That's going to be a beacon for more reinforcements," commented Funsch dryly as he watched the third cruiser explode into a massive blast of heat and fire as it rammed into the side of a building, causing the whole floor to buckle and crumble.

"Point taken," said Wild. He leaned in close to Daniel's ear and yelled, "Open a portal! Now!"

"No!" Funsch shouted suddenly, "You can't! The portals are watched! We're going to have to hijack a ship!"

"Are you kidding me?" roared Franklin over the howling wind, "We have, like, an eight-star wanted level! They'll be sending the whole army after us soon!"

"It doesn't matter!" yelled Funsch, "Who would you prefer to fight: an army of Coruscant police troopers, or several dozen armed dimensional travelers?"

"Neither!" shouted Franklin, "Well… I suppose killing a bunch of Star Wars soldiers would be easier… Fine! Where to?"

Funsch turned to Wild and said, over the wind, "Wild! Tell Daniel to head to his left at this upcoming turn. Then he is to dive straight down. No veering, just straight down."

Wild blinked in surprise, but nodded. He quickly relayed the instructions to Daniel, who preformed them without question. He folded in his wings and they shot straight down. Franklin almost lost his life as he slipped from his perch on Daniel's broad, scaly back, but saved himself at the last moment as he snatched the tip of Daniel's dragon tail. Clinging on for dear life, he yelled, "That was scary! Are we almost there yet?!"

Funsch nodded wordlessly, and suddenly he shouted loudly, "Pull up! Pull up! God! Pull up!"

Daniel's wings snapped open and they shot forward, heading straight for a small tunnel. Once again Franklin almost flew off, but he held on tight. As they continued to accelerate towards the tunnel, Franklin's sniper rifle suddenly slipped off his back and flew away. However, by some miracle, Franklin flicked out a foot and managed to snag the strap around it, keeping it from vanishing into the cold black night. Franklin actually closed his eyes as they continued to barrel towards the tunnel. A hundred meters, then fifty, then ten, then five, then one. Daniel folded his wings in close to his body and they shot through, with his scales grazing the sides of the hole. They abruptly found themselves in a massive hangar, filled with large transport ships. With the random appearance of a massive dragon, the hangar was quickly vacated, and Daniel, Funsch, Wild, and Franklin got their choice of ships without any form of obstruction. Funsch's eyes quickly scoured the different models as he muttered to himself. Then his hand shot out and he pointed to a medium sized, red and white, cargo carrier.

"That one is a sturdy and fast model. Let's grab that one," he said briskly.

They sprinted towards it and were in it in no time. Funsch quickly hacked into the systems and had control of the whole ship and the whole docking area in less than a minute. However, even before they had begun the launch sequence, troopers had begun to stream into the hangar.

"They're trying to override the docking release sequence," growled Funsch as his fingers flew over the control panels, "Wild, Daniel, I need you two to keep us from being boarded. Franklin, help me take off."

Wild slammed a hoof against the ground and commanded shadows from every corner of the large hangar to fill every square centimeter. Soon the place was shrouded in an eerie darkness, and the troopers had to slow their pace. Daniel quickly followed this up by releasing a focused stream of fire at the metal supports of the hangar above him. Flaming debris began to rain down upon the heads of the attacking troopers, and they had to dive for cover behind cargo boxes and small ships. At this time, Funsch and Franklin completed the docking release and the ignition sequences, and the ship slowly lifted above the ground. It hovered in place and then began to float towards the slowly closing metal double hangar doors.

"We're going to have to floor it if we want to beat out that closing door," muttered Funsch. Without waiting for a confirmation from Franklin, and without giving a word of warning to anyone else... Funsch floored it. White and blue fire blasted from the jets, and the thermal shockwave sent every unsecured object behind it skimming backwards. The ship lurched forward as it accelerated dangerously and blasted through the door at the very last microsecond. It was so close, in fact, that the metallic doors literally scraped off the top layer of paint from the side of the cargo ship. Yelling soundlessly, Funsch yanked back on his controls and sent the ship spiraling upwards, through the sky, and into the atmosphere. In a couple of minutes they were out of orbit and preparing to hyperjump.

"That was a close one," sighed Franklin. He was about to say something else when his voice caught in his throat. Wild glanced at the screen that Franklin was staring at. A large fleet consisting of several Jedi Starfighters was just on their tale. A well known voice crackled over the intercom of the ship. It was Anakin Skywalker.

"Surrender yourselves, or I will destroy you and scatter your debris across the system."

Funsch snorted in laughter, but then turned to Daniel, Wild, and Franklin and said, "We are at a disadvantage, technically. If we had a Dimensional Traveler-grade fighter cruiser, we'd be set, but we don't. We are in their dimension playing by their rules… and we're outnumbered twenty to one. And to top it all off, their ships are better in every possible aspect. We have two choices now: surrender, or open a portal and hope we're not killed by an army of reward-obsessed dimensional travelers on arrival to some dimension."

Wild simply rolled his eyes, and Franklin bit his lip hard. Suddenly, however, Daniel said, "We should use a portal."

Franklin glanced at Daniel and said, "Really? Where to? There is no place safe."

"We should jump to the My Little Pony dimension. Something tells me that no one will follow me there," said Daniel calmly.

"I would like to agree on disagreeing, Daniel," snapped Franklin, "There has to be another way…"

"Nope," interjected Funsch, "We're out of time. We're opening a portal. Wild, get on it."

As Wild mentally searched for the My Little Pony dimension to open a portal, Funsch leaned over and turned on the cargo ship's intercom.

"Anakin, we would really like to surrender and all that, but I really don't like your face, or the traitorous things you may or may not be doing in a couple of years. So, we're going have to decline your invitation for our unconditional surrender. Go screw yourself over," said Funsch curtly as he continued to chomp on his bubble gum.

He then turned to Wild and nodded. Wild quickly opened a large portal, and the four began to leap through it, just as Anakin's Jedi Starfighter opened up on them. Just as Funsch dove through the portal, the ship collapsed. Immediately the portal was exposed to pure space and it became a vacuum, and it began to suck Funsch back through. However, Daniel reached forward with his great head and seized Funsch by his jacket. He dragged him back into the My Little Pony dimension just as Wild slammed the portal shut.

Breathing heavily, Funsch nodded towards Daniel and said, "Thanks."

Wild glanced around the area, almost with a cheerful air. "It's good to be back where I truly belong," he said airily, "I believe we've landed in the Crystal Mountains, just northwest of the Crystal Empire."

Funsch immediately realized his body was shimmering, preparing to transform into a pony, so he cancelled it out.

"What? You don't want to be a pony?" chuckled Franklin as he glanced around the brightly lit landscape.

"No. And apparently neither do you," was all that Funsch said.

"Follow me," said Wild, "We're going to the Crystal Empire."

* * *

_Dimension: My Little Pony_

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: The Crystal Empire_

_Time: A day after the arrival of Doxia_

Rarity was pouring over a couple of sketches for a sapphire and cyan drape in her room when Doxia abruptly appeared in her open doorway.

"Knock knock! Anyone home? Are you okay?" Doxia said jovially.

Rarity glanced over her shoulder and smiled weakly. "Oh, I'm fine darling… I'm just having a tad bit of trouble."

Doxia strolled over and crouched down next to her. He placed a hand over one of her hoofs and said, gently, "You're treating that moderate cyan silk as if it is a semi-sheered fabric. See the edges? It's a sheer fabric, and you should use a French seam over here to fuse it properly."

Rarity sighed, but nodded her head vigorously. "Yes, darling, I… I utterly forgot. As you can see, I am a little flustered."

"Do you want to tell a friend about it?" asked Doxia slowly.

Rarity paused in her work as she thought about his question for a moment. Then she said, "It is that Sapphire Anemone character. I've… I've never seen such an unhappy pony! Even Pinkie Pie is unable to cheer her up, and it makes me rather depressed."

Doxia nodded his head slowly. "That being suffered a terrible wound. Her brother betrayed her, and enslaved her. Those kinds of hurt don't go away quickly, if at all. However, despite the wound, and their attitudes in dealing with them, they are still sentient beings, and deserve to be treated with love and respect like everyone else."

Rarity nodded her head. "You are right, Doxia."

Suddenly Rainbow Dash shot through their window.

"THERE you are! I've been looking everywhere for you guys!" exclaimed Rainbow indignantly. Then she noticed Doxia. Her eyes widened a massive amount.

"Wow."

Doxia got up and looked at her for a moment. Then he said, "You're Rainbow Dash! Element of Loyalty."

Rainbow nodded her head slowly. "Yyyeeaaahhhh… And you are?"

Doxia continued to gaze on her with a kind of compassion that befuddled her. "Oh," he said, "I'm Doxia. Rainbow Dash… this may have been a different timeline but… you are much loved. I just want to thank you for the love you brought back into a man's life once upon a time, little Dashie."

Rainbow eyed Doxia, still unsure of how to react. She was being thanked by a terrifyingly powerful being for something that had never happened to her… in this dimension at least. "Well… thanks… I think."

Doxia then returned to his usually cheerful attitude and gave her a flourishing bow. "I am sorry for not having introduced myself to you before! I've busy with other stuff, but I do look forward to meeting the rest of the Mane 6. That being pretty much only Applejack now."

Rainbow, who was starting to warm up to Doxia now, nodded her head, "Cool! Sorry for asking but… what are you?"

"I'm a Dimensional Lord. I am a former member of the Paradox's brotherhood. I'm here to help bring him down."

Rainbow grinned. "Well then, you've just won yourself a new friend."

Doxia gave her an exaggerated hoof-fist bump as he exclaimed, "Score! Awesome. Hey… do you want to race?"

Rainbow immediately brightened up more and exclaimed, "DO I EVER? Totally!"

Doxia got up and snapped a finger. Suddenly bright wings of pure light spread out behind him, making him look like an Archangel of the Celestial Heaven.

"Nice look," said Rainbow, "But you'll have to do better if you want to beat me."

Doxia laughed heartily, "Totally! I'm going have to hope that I will lose by only a couple of minutes!"

Rainbow grinned more as she revved up her powerful wings. "Readysetgo!"

Rainbow blasted out of the window. Doxia, however, just stood there for a moment.

"Um… Doxia? Are you going to… er… race?" said Rarity, blinking at him.

"Three Mississippi… two Mississippi… one Mississippi… Bye Rarity!" exclaimed Doxia. Then he blasted out of the window with such force that all of Rarity's sketches fluttered around the room.

Rainbow was sure she had a jump on him, but when she glanced over her shoulder, she could see the vibrant wings of pure light of Doxia gaining on her with ease. Gritting her teeth, she pushed her strength to the limit. Nevertheless, Doxia slowly caught up to her until he was flying side-by-side with her. With floated alongside her on his back as he commented airily, "Nice day for a flap around the planet, eh Rainbow Dash?"

"Gotta… go… faster!" yelled Rainbow. She strained her wings… and then she broke the sonic rainboom barrier. A massive circular ring of pure color exploded behind her. The microsecond she did that, Doxia flipped around her and took a picture of her and him, with his thumbs up, using a camera he had conjured out of the air.

"Best… selfie… EVER!" yelled Doxia as both he and Rainbow slowed down. As they landed, Doxia gleefully exclaimed, "If I had a Facebook account here, I would probably get more likes on this picture than any picture ever posted ever."

"You probably would," said a voice behind him.

Doxia stopped and audibly groaned. It was Pictor. He turned to Rainbow, "Rainbow… run."

Rainbow Dash didn't even stop to question. Despite the fact that she hadn't known him for more than five minutes, she felt like she could completely trust him. She just blasted off towards the Crystal Empire to get help. As she did this, Doxia turned to gaze upon his enemy.

Pictor stood a dozen meters away. In his right hand, he held Cadence by her throat. In his left hand, he held Shining Armor by his throat.

"Put them down," said Doxia. His voice was calm, even airy, but even a fool could tell that if Pictor did anything to harm them, he would probably die the worst death possible.

"I might… if you do something for me," laughed Pictor.

"I don't do things for a murdered such as your esteemed self, Pictor," said Doxia.

Pictor slowly tightened his hold on both Cadence and Shining Armor. "Look at their faces," said Pictor in a friendly, yet sadistic, voice, "Look at their eyes. They fear death. Are you willing to let them die by not answering to me?"

Doxia looked at Cadence, and then at Shining Armor. "You two will be okay," he said, "You two will be fine."

He then looked at Pictor. "What do you want?"

"I'm going to kill you Doxia… But I want to do it elsewhere. You will willingly leave here so that we can finish this in a different dimension."

Doxia stared at Pictor for a moment. Then he said, "Done."

Doxia opened a portal and said, "I'm going to wait for you on the planet Mars in the Trumpeter of Krakow dimension. If you don't show up… or you hurt Cadence or Shining Armor… I will kill you… quite slowly I'm afraid."

Doxia stepped through the portal slowly and closed it behind him. Pictor threw both Cadence and Shining Armor away from him. "You fools," he said, "How can any of you agree to be heroes when beings like me can use you and your friends as leverage any time we choose with ease? Fools."

"No," gasped Cadence as she massaged her bruised neck, "You're the fool. We 'heroes' have something worth fighting for… loved ones."

"Those 'loved ones' will be your undoing," snarled Pictor as he opened a portal, "They are simply triggers for your most primitive and most violent emotions. They are simply nothing more than objects that I can use to achieve my own goals."

With that, he entered the portal and closed it. However, as he closed it, Cadence called out, "Good will always win. Love is more powerful than all the hate in the world."

Pictor laughed as he slammed his portal shut.

"She's right, you know," said Doxia nonchalantly from behind, "Now… tell me, why is the REAL reason you're doing this?"

"You punched me in the face; you knocked me out; you humiliated me," hissed Pictor, "I am going to make you pay."

There was a pause as Pictor and Doxia stood facing each other on the desolate landscape, a hundred meters apart.

"Well, I suppose things are going down right now, then," said Doxia. He didn't even sound close to worried.

Pictor snarled as he said, "Yes, I suppose."

Doxia shrugged, "It doesn't have to end this way, you know. You could just surrender. After all, you know what you are doing is bad."

Pictor laughed harshly, "I don't care about what you think is 'bad,' Doxia. We are the ones in control, we set the standards."

Doxia shook his head dramatically. "Ah, my friend, and that is where you go astray. You could have been a beacon for the Crystal Empire with Mattimeo. So, here is your last chance… do you surrender?"

Pictor put up his fists, "Nope."

Doxia stood there for a moment. Then he hurled a bolt of pure power. It was relatively small in size, but the earth beneath the bolt cracked, crumbled, and disintegrated as the beam passed over it. Pictor threw out a fist and it smashed into the bolt, dissipating it, but the subsequent shockwave literally shattered the whole planet into nothing.

Now floating in space, Pictor flung his arms wide. He then slammed his palms together. Suddenly, two red supergiants appeared beside Doxia. The two celestial bodies collided and went supernova. The blast cleared out the whole solar system. As the energy cleared, Doxia was still floating nonchalantly in the same position, charging up his next attack. He hurled a stream of energy, and it lanced toward Pictor.

This bolt was thin, but extraordinarily powerful. Rips in time, space, and dimensions began to form in the wake of the bolt of power, denoting the pure ferocity of the attack. Once again Pictor threw up his hands and caught the bolt. He then attempted to use his powers to dissipate the attack, but the power of the energy within the stream was too great. Soundlessly screaming, Pictor began to draw power from the surrounding stars. The heavens went dark as Pictor drew quintillions of joules worth of energy from his surroundings, all in an attempt to dissipate Doxia's attack. Suddenly Pictor forced back the beam for a split-second. He then opened up two portals, one next to Doxia, and the other in front of the beam. The beam passed through the portal and rocketed out the other, straight towards Doxia. Doxia simply caught the stream of power with his free hand, and then slammed his two fists together, connecting the stream from start to end, creating a power-loop. The beam of energy exploded. The blast was so great that everything within a million parsecs simply ceased to exist, as their matter was extinguished into nothing. Now only Pictor and Doxia remained, floating in space.

"Well," said Doxia telepathically to Pictor, "You might want to follow up with another attack, big guy, or this could end up being the shortest Dimensional Lord grudge match in the history of the universe."

Pictor was breathing heavily. However, he snapped a finger and a blast of pure time energy bubbled towards Doxia. Immediately space itself was distorted and twisted as the multiple planes of the dimension were mashed together, scarring and disfiguring the time-space continuum horribly. Doixa slammed a palm into the wave of power and separated it. Doxia grunted harshly in exertion as he forced the stream around him. As it passed him by, he retaliated. Doxia threw a fist forward, as if to punch Pictor. Another bolt of power left his hand, and it lanced toward Pictor. As it flew towards him, massive tears in the dimension began to appear as the presence of the energy bolt dissolved the whole structural integrity of the universe. Pictor blasted towards the attack and smashed into it head-on, still drawing power from his surroundings, draining stars of their power from as far away as a few million parsecs. Doxia's attack ruptured as Pictor struck it… and the whole universe warped. Physics shattered, molecular chemistry went haywire, and the universe began to slowly cease to exist. As for Pictor… the blast sent him spinning away at about three times the speed of light. However, Pictor quickly recovered and he teleported back to his original position, a hundred meters from Doxia. His armor was badly damaged, and there was a hairline crack on his helmet, which was now dented in multiple places. He breathed heavily as the universe around them roiled and ruptured.

"This… isn't… over… Doxia…" gasped Pictor. He then shimmered and vanished, no doubt having evacuated to the phantom dimension of Amethyst. Doxia sighed sadly as he watched the universe around him simply ceased to exist.

"Such a waste… and for what? This is not how the multiverse should go. There should be love, peace, acceptance, compassion, mercy, and hope. But where that should be, only hate and mistrust dwells. The Paradox must be stopped. The demons must be stopped. The multiverse must be given a chance to prove that despite the outlook of things, good has always been stronger than evil… always," murmured Doxia to himself. Giving the dying dimension one last mournful glance, he opened up a portal to the My Little Pony dimension once more and floated through.

Cadence looked up from where she sat with Shining Armor, in the exact spot where Pictor had left them. They were with Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and several crystal pony guards.

"Doxia!" exclaimed Cadence joyfully as he stepped through his portal. Doxia waved to her and said, "Hey everyone! I hope you're all fine!"

"We are!" said Rarity, "But what about yourself, darling?"

"A little shaken up, perhaps, but overall I'm fine. However, I could use a good cheering up from a group of best friends right about now," replied Doxia promptly.

No sooner had he said that then Cadence had seized him in a hug.

* * *

**Note: I cannot tell you guys how much fun I had writing up the fight between Doxia and Pictor. I had to throw every possible caution to the wind when describing the battle because of the immensity of the raw power of the two beings. Anyway, don't forget the R&R stuff!**


	57. Chapter 57 - Moving Right Along

**Note: I made a couple of changes to chapters 52, 54, and 55; mostly just spelling changes (though on 52, I wrote a little bit on what Cadence and Shining's worst fear was when they were hit by Sombra's dark magic). I've also made a couple of changes to the Franklin section of the guide. Additionally I uploaded an awesome picture of Twilight Sparkle and Flaming Star to the wikia page. Anyway, enough with the updates... on to the story!**

* * *

_Dimension: Amethyst_

_Planet: Capitol Prime_

_Specific Location: Summit Meeting room 8, floor 9853171_

_Time: Unknown_

Pictor strolled into the meeting room with purpose. His armor was now repaired, and his masked helmet had been fixed and polished.

"I got everything on video," he said briskly, "It's ready… to… go… What are you doing?"

This was specifically addressed to the Paradox, who was standing at the window, with one of his armored hand pressed against the glass.

"I've tried so hard, Pictor," sighed the Paradox as he stared out into space, "I've tried so hard to show everyone that good will always outlive evil… but there is too much. There is simply too much."

Pictor slowly began to back out of the room, realizing that his leader was slowly becoming more unstable. "I thought you were damning them all earlier," said Pictor.

"Perhaps I was. How can I not when they are all too weak to quench the evil that dwells in this multiverse?"

"Well… how can you?"

"They are fools, Pictor. They have to stare into the abyss, and be strong enough to pull themselves out of it, changed but victorious. They have to become monsters to fight the monsters. That is the only way evil will be destroyed. But then… but then all that will be left are the new monsters, the new heroes-turned-horrors. This is why they must all die."

"Why?"

"They are not strong enough to fight the evil, and if they are, they only live long enough to see themselves turn evil. Only a person in authority, with a sound mind and a sound conviction, can see this end. That person will be me."

"Are you sound of mind, Paradox? Truly… are you?"

The Paradox turned his head to look straight at Pictor. "Maybe I am, maybe I am not," was all he said at first. There was a pause, then he said, "Once again, madness is only a definition determined by those in authority. We are the gods now, Pictor, we determine what the norm is."

Pictor growled under his breath and then snapped, "Cut it out, Paradox! I have the damn video you wanted!"

The Paradox turned to Pictor again and said, "Excellent. Are you airing it?"

On a telepathic signal, Pictor pulled up a holographic projection. A light went from red to green. "It is now," said the Pictor, "It is on live-feed on every update alert for every Dimensional Lord."

The two stood side-by-side as they watched the edited version of the video feed. According to this, Doxia viciously attacked Pictor, who was trying to convince him to return to his people.

"You cannot keep killing people!" exclaimed the Pictor in the video, "We know what is right and what is wrong. You know for a FACT that that is wrong!"

"Ah," replied the Doxia on the screen, "my friend, and that is where you go astray. You could have been a beacon for the Crystal Empire with Mattimeo. So, here is you last chance… do you surrender?"

The Paradox stiffened. "Is this airing?" he snapped harshly.

Pictor nodded, a little confused.

The Paradox sighed in resignation and relaxed, almost mournfully. Pictor glanced at his and said, "What is it?"

"Doxia said, 'You could have been a beacon for the Crystal Empire with Mattimeo.' Does that phrase even make any sense?" asked the Paradox slowly.

Pictor shook his head wordlessly. Then he stopped… and then he facepalmed.

"It was a code," muttered the Paradox, now ignoring Pictor, "He was relaying a code. He knew it was a setup, and decided to play right into it so that he, in turn, could spread a code to all of his allies. So now there is some good new and some bad news. The good news is that we've probably convinced several more Dimensional Lords that Doxia needs to be brought down. The bad news is that Mattimeo, and probably Meadolax, will be returning from where they are in the multiverse to lend aid to Doxia. Need I remind you that both Mattimeo and Meadolax are exceptionally powerful in their own right?"

"No," snarled Pictor, absolutely livid with anger. How the hell had Doxia known about the setup? How the hell could he have been smart enough to turn it back onto them with such ease?

"Well, no matter, we need to proceed with the plan. We need to find out where the beacon crystals are, and we need to do it soon. Is there any word about the Brothers in Arms corps?" said the Paradox.

Pictor nodded as he opened up several holographic screens. "Yes. They have found Dimensional Traveler Evan Funsch. They have returned to the My Little Pony dimension."

The Paradox rocked back and forth in his large white chair slowly as he said, "Good. The pony that holds the secret to the location of the mysterious vials is Sapphire Anemone, correct? She's the sister of the former King Sombra, I believe."

Pictor nodded his head.

"Very well," said the Paradox, standing up decisively, "I have another addition to the Great Plan. Get word to Elite Phasetrooper number four hundred. I have a task for her."

* * *

_Dimension: My Little Pony_

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: The Crystal Mountains_

_Time: Two days after the arrival of Doxia_

"We're lost," said Franklin as he twirled his sniper rifle in the air, not at all sounding worried about their predicament.

"Of course we're lost!" snapped Wild, "I said that five minutes ago, and I am the one who's leading you guys around!"

Evan glanced at Daniel, who was lumbering behind them quietly. "Why haven't we sent Daniel into the air to look for landmarks?"

Wild stopped in his tracks momentarily. Then he said, "Because we totally forgot. That's why. Daniel, could you take to the air and look for landmarks?"

As Daniel nodded and blasted off, Funsch laughed, "I'm surprised you guys survived this long as a team. You three are terrible at working together, really."

"We've had better times," muttered Franklin as he strapped his sniper rifle to his back.

"No doubt," said Funsch briskly.

At that moment Daniel touched down. A bright red female crystal earth pony was on his back.

Wild immediately began to growl, and shadows began to curl around his hoofs in black tendrils of power.

Both Daniel and the pony ignored Wild as Daniel said, "This is Ruby Blossom. She was lost as well."

Wild, who was still making it obvious that he was adverse to the additional company, snapped, "How did you get lost… Ruby Blossom?"

Ruby, still acting oblivious to his hostility, smiled at him and said, "Oh, I had a message from this pony named Pinkie Pie addressed to someone named Rarity. However, she ran off to help Princess Cadence with something, so I tried to follow them. Unfortunately, unlike them, I got lost. I really appreciate the lift, mister dragon."

Daniel dipped his head respectively as he said, "Please… call me Daniel."

Ruby gave him a bright smile and patted him on the back as she got off. Franklin nodded his head to her and said, "We're friends of both Pinkie Pie and Rarity. Could you tell us the message, please?"

Ruby looked a little unsure, but then she caught the hostile glare coming from Wild and nodded her head. Looking a little flustered, she said, "Well… They were trying to cheer up my friend, Sapphire Anemone. She supposedly knows something really important or something like that. Anyway, Pinkie Pie wanted Rarity to come back for some help. I really need to find Rarity."

Daniel said, "I'll find them. We're in open country, I should be able to locate her and Princess Cadence in no time." He took to the air again.

Both Wild and Funsch were eying Ruby suspiciously, so Franklin slowly sidled over next to her, trying to make her less uncomfortable.

"Have you seen humans before?" asked Franklin, "I mean, you seem quite calm."

Ruby nodded and smiled, "No, I've never seen your type before, but our world is filled with many wondrous things. As for me being calm… well… I was always good at that."

Franklin blinked. "Okay. Well… anyways…"

There was a long and awkward pause, as Funsch and Wild continued to eye her with distrust. Luckily for both Ruby and Franklin, Daniel arrived.

As he landed, he said, "I've found them. Both Rarity and Princess Cadence are with some group farther up north. Everyone onto my back. I'll take you guys there."

"I remember when you threated to maul me if I touched you scales… a long time ago? Remember, Daniel?" chuckled Franklin as he clambered on.

"Shut up," snapped Daniel. He then spread his great wings and took off with massive flaps.

In moments they were high above the ground, rapidly approaching the area Daniel had claimed he had spotted Rarity. In moments more, they were circling the area. Franklin pulled out his sniper rifle and scoped out the ground below.

"It most certainly is Rarity and Cadence," reported Franklin, "They are with Rainbow Dash, a couple of guards… and it looks like the Paradox. Guess they're all going to be dead in a couple of seconds. Fancy that."

Without waiting for Franklin to say more, both Wild and Funsch leapt from Daniels back and began to dive, in freefall, towards the group on the ground far below.

"Was it something I said?" chuckled Franklin as he, too, leapt off Daniel's back.

After several seconds of falling through the air unobstructed, Franklin conjured up a parachute pack, which he swiftly strapped to his back. He pulled the cord, and the cute opened in the nick of time, decelerating him just enough that he was able to land without breaking or bruising anything. He threw away the chute just as Daniel, Ruby, Funsch and Wild joined him. They sprinted towards the group as Franklin yelled, "Paradox! Get away from them!"

The giant being, who was Doxia, straightened up and turned around to face the oncoming group. He threw up his hands in mock horror.

"Oh noes!" he declared, "I've been caught! Just as a quick note: why does everyone I meet automatically assume that I'm the Paradox and then subsequently try to kill me?"

"You do look a lot like the Paradox, darling," commented Rarity as she trotted up to stand next to him.

Franklin skidded to a stop in front of Doxia and quickly looked him up and down. He then turned to Wild and gesticulated wildly, "In my defense, he TOTALLY looks like the Paradox. Don't get mad."

Wild was too intrigued by Doxia himself to really be mad. He just ignored Franklin and said, to Doxia, "Who are you?"

Doxia gave Wild a flourishing bow as he said, "I am Doxia! Former member of the Paradox's brotherhood and professional stunt double for him apparently. I also like ice cream."

"My apologies, Doxia," said Funsch briskly, "But, as I am sure you know, we are a little at odds with your leader."

"My former leader," corrected Doxia, "I understand that you are trying to bring him down… and so am I! So, I guess Franklin can put his sniper rifle down before I turn it into a gerbil, and we can talk like civilized beings who haven't had too much beer. Except for Wild. He always acts like he's had too much beer."

Wild rolled his eyes, but said, "You know of us?"

Doxia nodded. "Of course! I was the one who told the firstborn to tell Daniel to let you on their team. I was also the one to tell you guys to ask Funsch where Jetfire is. Jet fire should know where Finnian Jones lives."

"Wait, you are the one who set them on the path of this wild goose chase?" interjected Funsch, "Don't you know Finnain Jones is a myth?"

"I would normally agree with someone as illustrious as yourself, Evan," said Doixa, "If not for the fact that I was the one who gave Finnian Jones his dimensional traveler powers. Thus… I have to disagree: he does exist."

Funsch blinked, a little shocked. However, he then nodded and took a step back.

"Rarity! Pinkie wants you to know that she needs your help with Sapphire Anemone! She cannot help her alone!" said Ruby after a pause.

"Who is this Sapphire Anemone anyway?" asked Wild, "Why is she so important?"

"She holds the location of something that I hold rather dear. Imagine that you lost your favorite teddy bear. That is like me and my, um, something," said Doxia cheerfully, "Perhaps you guys could help?"

Franklin straightened up and stretched for no reason whatsoever as he said, "Nope. Nope. Nope. We are fighters, not clowns in pink tutus."

Doxia leaned in close and said, "You know, you guys do look like clowns if I squint my eyes."

Doxia then dropped his cheerful attitude. "Franklin... Sapphire Anemone won't talk to other ponies. You know why? It's because she lost her brother. She lost a family member that she dearly loved, and it hurt her. It is still hurting her."

Franklin slowly crouched down as Doxia talked. He stared off into space as he said, "She lost somebody close to them…"

He then stood up and said, "I guess I will talk to her. Perhaps I can make her understand how to cope with the loss of a sibling."

Doxia nodded his head and then turned to the rest of the group. "We should go now, fellow ponies, and dragons, and humans!" he exclaimed dramatically.

* * *

_Dimension: My Little Pony_

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Canterlot_

_Time: Two days after the arrival of Doxia_

Caustic Rain shook his head as he and Luna flew in the chariot over the city of Canterlot to the castle.

"This is NOT going to turn out too well," he mumbled to himself. This statement seemed to become more and more real as they drew closer to the castle and began to land in the courtyard of the castle.

The second they set down, Caustic Rain was surrounded by Luna's infamous Night Guard. Caustic Rain pressed his ears against his skull and began to slowly draw forward his control over acids. However, before he was provoked into an attack, Luna said, "Stand down, guards. He is with me."

The Night Guards actually blinked in surprise, but they did back down. At this moment, Celestia actually trotted up to greet her sister. She smiled as she said, "Greetings Luna! Who is this?"

Caustic Rain looked away belligerently, so Luna answered for him. "This is Caustic Rain. He is a dimensional traveler."

Celestia cocked her head to one side. "A dimensional traveler, you say? Why is he not with Flaming Star or Sunset Shadow?"

"Because he is with me," was all that Luna said.

Celestia eyed her sister in silent surprise, but nodded her head. "We have the guest wing," Celestia said, "He can have his choice of rooms."

"I want him to have the secondary royal bedroom, Celestia," interjected Luna, "the one adjacent to me. This way I can find him easier."

"So, what, you can make sure I don't run away?" snorted Caustic Rain, "I really don't like what's happening, but I trust you Luna, you don't need to be suspicious."

"It is not that, Caustic Rain," replied Luna, "You will see shortly."

Caustic Rain eyed Luna with bemusement, but then sighed, "I suppose… I suppose being in the next bedroom won't be too bad."

"I do not know about that," said Celestia, "Luna, could I talk to you for a moment?"

Caustic Rain narrowed his eyes at the two princesses as they moved away to talk.

"Why are you doing this, Luna?" whispered Celestia.

"I want him to feel loved!" replied Luna.

"What do you mean?"

"I was in his dreams. This poor colt has suffered terrors beyond imagination. It has torn out his heart, just like how Sunset Shadow when he first came. However, he is not yet over the brink, he has not yet become a killer. I think I can pull him back."

"I do not wish to seem cynical, sister, but why do you care?"

"I care because I see a little of myself in him, and, as I said, I want him to feel loved. He is very important to Equestria's future."

"What do you mean?"

"A wondrous, winged human called an Archangel visited him. Almost immediately afterward, Doxia showed up as well, looking for him. Something is going on, and he is directly involved."

"I see. However, it would seem to me that being visited by such powerful beings only brings chaos, something that I understand we both wish to avoid. You risk being embroiled in this said chaos if you continue to stand by this colt. I am sorry sister, but it just… you have never acted in such a manner before… except for when you first met Regal Crescent. Are you okay?"

Luna looked away, nervous and slightly perturbed as strange emotions bubbled inside her chest. "I… I do not know. I just want him to feel loved."

Celestia looked at her sister curiously for a couple for seconds. Then she sighed and smiled. "Very well. He can stay."

Luna smiled back at her sister and dipped her head. She then turned to Caustic Rain and placed a hoof gently on his shoulder. Caustic Rain actually looked shocked by the gesture, but did not do anything to stop it.

"Come," said Luna, "Follow me. I will show you to your room. Then I will take you on a ground tour of the castle. I am quite sure you will enjoy it."

Caustic Rain, still a little unsure of what was going on, nodded his head numbly and went to follow her. They slowly trotted away side-by-side. Celestia chuckled to herself as the two disappeared around a corner of the castle.

* * *

**Note: Oh, I have decided to write another set of "Recollections" chapters. I understand that one of you really wants me to proceed with the story without any more flashbacks, but I think this set is very necessary. I realized I needed Franklin's personality developed a bit more before he went to talk with Sapphire Anemone. Additionally I left both Twilight and Flaming Star "in the gulch" so to speak with their initial proposal for marriage. They are what is going up next. Again, I want to add that this flashback set is very relevant to the story. Anyway, don't forget the R&R stuff!**


	58. Chapter 58 - Past Days (Part 1)

**Note: So... many... awesome... reviews! Yes! Anyway, I was seriously considering putting some form of an April's Fools joke somewhere in this chapter, but then I opted not to, because it was not really worth it. So you guys will not have to worry about it! Here is part one of the new set of "Recollections" chapters that will observe the events unfolding in Ponyville after the death of Miranda. Enjoy!**

* * *

_Dimension: My Little Pony_

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Ponyville Hospital_

_Time: A couple of days after the death of Miranda_

Twilight opened her eyes groggily. She was in a hospital. Her room was cozy and small, with a picture frame of a mountain range to her left, a window to her right, and the door to her front. Just beside her was a heart monitor that gave off a fait "beeping" noise. Next to her head, fast asleep, was a disheveled and absolutely exhausted Flaming Star. She smiled a little, still a tad bit detached from reality, as she patted his head absent-mindedly. Suddenly the door to her room creaked open, and Rainbow Dash peeked her head in. She noticed that Twilight was awake, and was about to exclaim something when she also noticed the unconscious form of Flaming Star. She bit her lip for a moment, stifling her acclamations of joy. Then she trotted in, motioning to some ponies behind her to follow. It was her, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, and Fluttershy. The Mane 6 were reunited. Twilight smile grew a little bit larger at the sight of her best friends, and she motioned with her head for them to come closer.

"How are you?" whispered Rarity, "You were really hurt. Is it true? Were you actually cut open?"

Twilight shivered a little bit as she nodded her head wordlessly.

"If I find the one who is responsible for that… he's in for some rump-kicking!" exclaimed Rainbow Dash in not-so-hushed tones.

"Woah there. Rainbow Dash," whispered Applejack, "Let's not go a-gettin' ourselves all riled up now."

Pinkie Pie bounced up and lightly poked the sleeping form of Flaming Star. "Ooooooh… he's sleeping like a baby. Should we wake him up!?"

For the first time that day, Twilight spoke. "I don't think we should, Pinkie. He spent every bit of energy healing my wounds."

"So it was HIM. He was the one who fixed you all up and the likes!" said Applejack.

"He was always a chill guy," chuckled Rainbow Dash.

"We owe him a bigger debt than we can ever repay," breathed Fluttershy.

"Something tells me that we won't ever need to worry 'bout that," said Applejack.

Twilight sighed dreamily and stared off into the distance. Rainbow Dash lifted into the air and floated upside-down in front of her line of vision. "Um… Twilight? Are you okay?"

Twilight continued to stare off into the distance. "Huh? Oh… yes. I am…"

"Don't look like that Twi, are you sure?" said Applejack, concern in her voice.

Twilight closed her eyes and said, "Flaming Star asked if I would marry him. I said yes."

"He said WHAT?" burst out Rainbow Dash. She fell from the sky and landed on top of the bed with a crash. Flaming Star's eyes snapped open and he fell over backwards.

"What? Who? Where?" He exclaimed as he scramble up.

"You're getting married Twilight? What happened to letting your best friends know? I mean, this is literally the worst possible time to get married!" exclaimed Rainbow Dash, leaping from the bed.

"I don't know… I think this is wonderful," murmured Fluttershy, smiling shyly.

"Of course it is, darling!" said Rarity, "It's just that Equestria and all the surrounding countries are in absolute chaos!"

Flaming Star rubbed his eyes. "So… I don't have your guys' blessings?"

Applejack trotted over and put a hoof on his shoulder and said, "Of course you do, sugar cube. We couldn't be happier. I guess we're just shocked and all."

"I'll begin working on the wedding schematics," said Rarity, rather gleefully.

Rainbow Dash scuffed a hoof on the ground, and then smiled. "I'm sorry. I was just surprised. You two would be awesome together."

Pinkie nodded her head. "Oh yes indeedie! I LOVE wedding parties!"

There was a pause, then Rainbow Dash said, "We will give you two space."

With that, Rarity, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie left. Fluttershy stayed for a moment longer. She gave Twilight and Flaming Star smile. "I'm so happy for you two!" She then left with the rest.

Flaming Star hopped onto the bed next to Twilight and said, "How are you doing today?"

Twilight sighed as she settled back in her bed and said, "My stomach is really sore."

Flaming Star grimaced as his mind flash backed to the time when he had to seal up her belly. "You were pretty much dissected. I swear… I will find the one who did this to you and make him pay."

Twilight put a hoof on his shoulder and said, "Something tells he already paid for a little bit."

Flaming Star glanced at her. "What do you mean?"

"The being that had me tortured, he was attacked by someone. They strolled straight up to him and punched him so hard in the face that the walls cracked and crumbled."

Flaming Star massaged his temples for a moment. "Wait… are you telling me that you were rescued?"

Twilight nodded. Then she gave him a bright smile.

Flaming Star momentarily forgot his questions and worries and grinned back. "Twilight… your smile is absolutely amazing. It brightens my whole day."

Twilight reached up and lightly touched Flaming Star's cheek. Flaming Star brushed back a stray strand of mane from her face and said, "It is time that I go, dear."

He got up, but just before he left, Twilight grabbed a hoof. She pulled him close and kissed him.

They held the kiss for a moment, before Flaming Star eased away, blushing profusely. "I've never done that before…" he muttered.

Twilight giggled a little. "Neither have I…"

Flaming Star scratched the back of his head nervously, then said, "I… I… I guess I should be going. You need to rest. I love you."

Twilight smiled dreamily as she closed her eyes. "I love you too."

Flaming Star closed the door and pressed his back against it. He slowly slid down to the floor, where he sat on his haunches. He sat there for a moment as he thought over what had just transpired. Was he even ready for such a commitment? What did marriage even mean? Could he even trust himself? He immediately marked the last question as a negative. For all his life, all he had ever thought about was himself. Naturally he had been a good teammate, but that was because he only wanted to be seen as the greatest that ever was, the leader of the whole show. Whenever a teammate got in the way of his title of "greatest traveler ever," he didn't hesitate to leave them behind. Now… now he was in Equestria, betrothed to a sweet mare who had unconditionally loved and comforted him from the beginning. And for the last year they had dated and spent time together, trying to get to know one another. He knew Twilight pretty well now, of course. He knew her favorite color, her favorite food, and her favorite book (actually, it was favorite books). He knew how messy an eater she was when it came to fast food, and how thunderstorms during the night made her subconsciously drool into her pillow. And he knew how much she loved him. Of course, she knew a lot about him as well. She knew his favorite color, his favorite food, and his favorite book. She knew how he ate, and how he slept. And she knew how much he loved her… or did she?

Flaming Star groaned, almost audibly. Could he trust himself to love her unconditionally like she unconditionally loved him? If he didn't, then that poor mare would suffer pains in her heart far beyond the pain of the torture she had endured, and he would never be able to live with himself afterwards. The risks were so great… but so were the rewards. However, just because one pony truly loves another does not mean that they are meant for one another. This last thought caused Flaming Star to bite his lip until it bled. After a moment more of frantic thought, he got up shakily and galloped off to Sunset's house. He would know what to do.

* * *

_Dimension: My Little Pony_

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Everfree Forest_

_Time: A couple of days after the death of Miranda_

Franklin sat on a tree stump overlooking the cave where the tree of Harmony stood. From where he sat, he could see Celestia, Luna, and Sunset Shadow looking over the tree, their horns glowing with magic as they ran diagnostics on it. Franklin shook his head as Celestia turned to Sunset and shook her own head. Sunset looked at his hoofs for a moment, and then turned away. He trotted away from the cave and made his way up to where Franklin sat.

"No luck?" muttered Franklin as he looked away.

Sunset shook his head. "No luck. Whatever that tree was made of, it does not match anything. Magic has no effect on it, and no components match the database. It literally is not of this universe… or this multiverse. The materials are completely unknown to us."

Franklin ground his teeth. "And my sister gave up her life to keep the Paradox from touching that useless piece of junk."

Sunset put a hoof on Franklin's shoulder, but he shook it off viciously. "No, Franklin," said Sunset, "She gave up her life for me. She sacrificed all that she had to protect me… and I don't understand why."

Sunsets voice broke then, and he, too, looked away. He was overcome by emotions. Why had Miranda sacrificed her life for him? She barely even knew him, and all the memories that she did have of him were when he was the "madman of the multiverse." Usually, Sunset rather prided himself on his ability to help others come to terms with their issues and losses, an ability that Fluttershy had taught him over the years they had lived together… but now he too was at a loss.

"I've… I've got to go," mumbled Sunset, feeling like a failure. He got up and just left Franklin, just sitting there.

Head down, Sunset slowly trotted to his house. Fortunately, he met Fluttershy on the way there.

He smiled a little at the sight of her wonderful face. "Hello dear," he mumbled, "How are you? Where is Starlight?"

Fluttershy lightly nuzzled his cheek. "I'm fine, thank you. Starlight is with Mrs. Cake. She agreed to watch her while I visited Twilight."

"Twilight! That's right! How is she?"

"She's doing well. Did you know that she agreed to marry Flaming Star?"

"She did? That's wonderful! How are the rest taking it?"

"They're a little surprised, I suppose, but I guess it is because of all the trouble that has been happening in Equestria. But, if two ponies love each other, and they understand what love means, then they belong with one another."

"And that is why I consider you the wisest being in the multiverse, dear. Speaking of wisdom… I was wondering if you could help me with something."

"Yes?"

"Well… We've been married for three years, and in those three years, you have taught me more about empathy, compassion, love, and kindness than I think I have learned in all my life. I consider you my role model, basically. Whenever some pony comes to me for advice about an issue, I think to myself, 'what would Fluttershy say'?"

Fluttershy blushed and looked down at her hoofs, hiding her face within her long, flowing, pink mane.

"I need your help, Fluttershy," continued Sunset, "I don't know what to do. Both Franklin and I are deeply hurt and confused by Miranda's death. I mean… why did she sacrifice her life… for me?"

Once again, Sunset's voice caught in his throat, and he took a deep, shaking, breath. Fluttershy looked up at Sunset and gazed into his eyes. They held the stare for a moment, and then she said, "That is simple: she did it because of us."

Sunset blinked.

Fluttershy continued. "Remember how she was so insistent with placing herself in danger in order to protect you? This was because of me, and Starlight Amber. She knew that we were a family, and that we would be a broken one if you died. She valued our wellbeing, and our happiness far above her own life."

Sunset shook his head, unable to speak. Tears began to well up in his eyes as his throat became raw with emotion.

Tears, too, began to flow down Fluttershy's cheeks as she continued to talk. "She never asked for anything in return. All she wanted was for us to be happy. She loved other ponies so much that she didn't care if she died… as long as the people she cared about could be together."

Sunset finally found his voice. "That is what makes a true hero. If there ever was one, it would be Miranda. That is why the Paradox will never prevail."

Sunset bowed his head. "She deserved that speech when she was buried."

Then he straightened up and gave Fluttershy a hug. "I'm going to talk to Franklin now," he said, "I think I know what to say."

He then trotted back into the Everfree forest. He found Franklin still sitting on the tree stump where he had been since the break of dawn. Sunset sat next to Franklin wordlessly. There was a pause, then Sunset started speaking.

"Franklin… what do you think Miranda's last thoughts were?" asked Sunset slowly.

Franklin shrugged derisively. "I don't know. Probably how cold she felt, and how much the hole in her side hurt."

Sunset shook his head. "I may not be Miranda's brother, Franklin, but I am pretty sure she died thinking of all of us."

Franklin glanced at him for a moment. Then he looked away. Sunset continued, "She was one of the kindest beings I have ever met. She was selfless, loving, and kind. She sacrificed herself for me because she didn't want Fluttershy to be widowed. She willingly gave up her life so that I could live on in happiness. She wouldn't want us mourning, she would want us to celebrate the life that she gave through her death."

Franklin shook his head. "I lost my sister. My only living relative. I lost my last connection to my past… and my future," he said belligerently.

"No," said Sunset, "You haven't. As long as you remember Miranda for who she was, she will be with you. What was the last thing she ever said directly to you?"

Franklin closed his eyes. "She said that she loved me, and that we would never be truly separate."

Sunset nodded his head. "Remember that. Remember those words. Honor her and move on. She is not really gone."

Franklin nodded. Sunset smiled and patted him on the back. He then got up and left, feeling a whole lot more at peace with himself than before. As he trotted through the quiet Everfree forest, he wondered what the future held in store for them. The Paradox seemed quite bent on destroying everything, and he possessed the firepower to do it. Without any effort, he could strip them of their powers, and leave them defenseless. They would need great amounts of help if they could even hope to take him down. Sunset was slowly beginning to brood over their dire predicament when Flaming Star joined him.

"There you are, Torrus," said Flaming Star briskly, "I really need to talk to you."

Sunset shook his head. "I really should be with my lovely wife right now, firstborn."

Flaming Star pulled ahead and turned around, blocking Sunset's path. "I really, really, really, really, really need to talk to you."

Sunset cocked his head to one side. Then he sat down on the road and motioned Flaming Star to do the same. "I suppose here is as good a place to have such a discussion as any."

Flaming Star sat down next to Sunset and said, "I need help. It's about me and Twilight."

Sunset grinned. "That's right! I heard you finally pulled yourself together enough to ask your fillyfriend to marry you!"

Flaming Star grimaced. "I did. And now I am beginning to think it was a mistake."

Sunset glanced at Flaming Star with raised eyebrows. "You think? What seems to be the problem?"

"I don't trust myself, Sunset!" burst out Flaming Star, "I've spent about eight thousand years of my life thinking only of myself, and only a year and a half thinking about others. The difference is too great, can I really make myself believe I can put other beings' needs before mine? Even if those needs are from a sweet, loving, beautiful, kind, wonderful mare like Twilight…"

Sunset smiled. "Look at what we have here. Here am I, a twenty-two-year-old who has a wife and a filly, and I am giving love advice to an eight-thousand-year-old who is terrified of females."

Flaming Star glared at Sunset. "This isn't funny. I really am having a crisis here."

Grinning, Sunset nodded his head. "Of course you are. Do you know what love is?"

Flaming Star opened his mouth, then closed it. Not in all his life had he been asked such a question, nor had he ever had time to pursue such answers.

Sunset smiled sagely. "Love is what you said: putting someone other's needs before your own willingly. True love is when you can do that over and over again for eternity. Love has no record system, no past can effect it. You are who you are today, not what the past made you originally out to be. It doesn't matter if you were a selfish, moronic, idiot in the days of the past, what matters is the Flaming Star of today. So I will ask you right now, are you willing to love Twilight with all your heart?"

Flaming Star thought about it for a moment. "I am. But what if I falter?"

"It's only natural that you will falter, it is part of our nature. But your love for Twilight will let you overcome those issues time and time again in perfect harmony. If you truly love Twilight, as you claim, then you will not fear the past, but will look to the future with hope of many years together with your beloved. I can tell you from experience, if you love somepony, and they love you back, nothing will ever be able to separate you two."

Flaming Star stared quietly at the ground, processing everything that Sunset had just said. After five minutes had passed and still he had said nothing, Sunset just smiled and got up.

"I cannot think of a better husband for Twilight in any timeline, alternate or otherwise, than you, Abimael 'James' Sethson."

Sunset then left, as Flaming Star's eyes filled with determination. He loved Twilight, and he was not going to let his doubts get in the way of what he knew he could do.

* * *

**Note: That is it for part 1! Now on to part 2! Well, by now you guys know the regular routine... give me feedback! Oh, I would like to comment on how AWESOME all you guys are. I don't think this story would be what it is now without all the encouragement, corrections (100% of them being of the relevant type), and OC travelers you guys have given me! Thank you sooooo much! Okay, we are moving on now...**


	59. Chapter 59 - Past Days (Part 2)

**Note: Here is part two! Enjoy!**

* * *

_Dimension: My Little Pony_

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Outskirts of Ponyville_

_Time: A couple of days after the death of Miranda_

Night Shade sat on a swing set in a small park. Franklin was somewhere in the Everfree forest, and Daniel was with Celestia, trying to calm the uproars in Bray, Saddle Arabia, the Crystal Empire, Irrum, and Equus. He was alone, and, for the first time, he felt completely abandoned.

His foster father, the Paradox, had openly denounced him, and had tried to kill Sunset, and then killed Miranda. Night Shade had no parents now as far as he was concerned. For eight years he had thought himself finally detached from the little orphan boy's world that he had been born into, but now here he was, a colt in a distant dimension… and yet he was still an orphan. He didn't cry, he had run out of tears to expend, but he did feel very numb. To be so young and have your entire world demolished in a single stroke was devastating, and he had felt the full blast.

He was so lost in brooding thought that he did not notice four figures approach the playground: Scootaloo, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Bell, and Button Mash. Apparently they, too, did not notice him at first, for they were talking amongst themselves.

"And then they told Jan, 'Mister, you have to stop making Button Mash seem so awesome on the web! Here is a cease and desist letter, have a nice day!' Can you believe it? Absolutely outrageous! I am just glad they backed off a little bit. Let's hope more comes back as time goes on…" said Button Mash vehemently as they trotted onto the grounds.

Scootaloo just chuckled. Then she noticed Night Shade. At first she was confused by the fact that a dimensional traveler, even one as young as Night Shade, was sitting on a swing all along, not out saving the world or something relatively similar. Then she remembered what had happened to him between him and the Paradox.

"Um… hey…" said Scootaloo to Night Shade. Then Apple Bloom, Sweetie Bell, and Button Mash noticed him as well.

"I really don't want to talk to you all right now. Please go away," muttered Night Shade, more to himself than anyone else.

Sweetie Bell blinked, but then motioned to the rest to follow her. She understood. However, while both Button Mash and Apple Bloom followed her Scootaloo stayed behind. She wasn't quite sure why, but she felt really sorry for Night Shade. Perhaps it was because he was a young Pegasus like her, perhaps it wasn't. She was unsure. However, she had felt drawn to admire and like the black Pegasus the moment he had shown up. She had always felt an interest in the dimensional travelers, and even play-acted as one sometimes when no pony was watching, but Night Shade was truly even more interesting. And right now she didn't want anything else but to see him happy. She had always admired him because of the control he showed. He had been through so much, and it gave him qualities that she wish that she had. Of course, she admired her adopted big sister, Rainbow Dash, but even she lacked the haunted wisdom that Night Shade had inherited on the terrifying battlefield. But could anything help the colt come out of the stupor he was currently in? It really didn't matter, because she trotted straight over anyway and sat down on the adjacent swing. Night Shade didn't even glance her way. He continued to stare off into the distance and brood.

"A while ago, I would have done what you are doing now if I had troubles," said Scootaloo, "I would have just sat and not said anything. But one day, Rainbow Dash said that she would be like my bigger sister, and everything changed. Now when I am sad, or worried, I can talk to her, and she can help me through things. That is what friends and family are for."

"Well, perhaps I would consider your advice if I was a family member, but I'm not. So go away," sighed Night Shade.

Scootaloo lapsed into silence for a moment, then she said, "Well… maybe… maybe you could pretend for a moment that I was part of your family... then perhaps you could tell me about it?"

Night Shade actually thought about it for a moment. Then he said, "I was an orphan for the first three years of my life. I have no idea how I managed to survive, but I did. Then the Paradox took me in. He raised me like I was his son. He taught me how to fight, and how to protect others. He gave me a mission: to spread justice throughout the multiverse. Well… then I discovered that it was all a lie. He never really cared about me, all he really cared about was his stupid master plan to destroy everything. Now I am once again without a family."

Scootaloo looked down at her hoofs. Then she said, "Are you going to leave?"

Night Shade shook his head slowly. "I don't know. I have no place to go now. I guess the only thing I have left to do is follow my teammates to wherever they go. But the truth is… I don't want to go with them anymore."

Scootaloo glanced up from her hoofs and looked at Night Shade. Night Shade sighed deeply and then started talking.

"You see, Scootaloo, I am only eleven. I suppose you could tell that by my physical attributes. Anyway, I've been fighting to survive for my entire life, but now… I'm sick of it. I want it to stop. I want a home. But… I guess I'm never really destined to have one."

Scootaloo thought about what Night Shade had said. Then she looked at Night Shade again and said, "You have no family and you have no place to go?"

Night Shade nodded and buried his face in his hooves. Then Scootaloo said, "You could come live with my family and me!"

Night Shade looked up and blinked. Then he shook his head. "I couldn't. I am sure your family wouldn't want a liability… especially one who has become an enemy of the greatest power ever."

Scootaloo got up and took Night Shade by the hoof. "Nonsense! I am an only child! That is… if you don't count Rainbow Dash. I am sure my parents would love to have one more family member. Another pony who could love them, and watch over me."

Scootaloo blushed a little as she said the last part, but she meant every word of it. She wanted a big brother, she always had. Night Shade did not know what to think. Could he really bring himself to allow people, or ponies, back into his heart? He struggled with himself, but after a single glance at Scootaloo's innocent and hopeful, he knew that he could.

"I don't know. I really don't know…" was all he said, however. Nevertheless, he knew that he really meant yes.

"Come on! If I know my parents, they will accept you quicker than you could possibly imagine. I look forward to calling you brother!" Scotaloo said cheerfully, hoping with all her heart that this Pegasus, this dimensional traveler, could be someone that she could feel close to and look up to, just like Rainbow Dash.

* * *

_Dimension: My Little Pony_

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Ponyville Hospital_

_Time: A couple of days after the death of Miranda_

Flaming Star sighed deeply as he approached the door to Twilight's hospital room. He reached up and knocked on the door.

"Come in!"

Flaming Star pushed the door open a crack and peeked through. Twilight was lying in her bed, with Spike beside her. Spike was drawing something on a pad of paper while Twilight was reading a large book. The moment Twilight caught sight of Flaming Star, her eyes light up and she gave him a bright smile.

Spike looked up as well and chortled. He jogged Twilight lightly with an elbow and said, "Hey Twi! It looks like your coltfriend is here."

Twilight smiled. "Spike, he's not my coltfriend anymore."

Spike blinked. He looked at Twilight, and then at Flaming Star, and then back at Twilight.

"I… What? Who?"

Twilight patted the baby dragon on the head as she said, "I'm sorry that I couldn't tell you this earlier… but we're getting married!"

Spike blinked again. Then he fainted.

"That baby dragon has really got to work on controlling himself," chuckled Flaming Star as he conjured up a glass of water from thin air. He quickly doused the unconscious Spike into wakefulness. Spike shot up and said, as if he had never passed out in the first place, "You're getting MARRIED? Why didn't you tell me? Am I always the last one to know?"

Twilight sighed and said, "I'm really sorry Spike, but it was sort of last minute. I thought you would understand. We've been dating for a year now, and we were waiting for the perfect time!"

"Yes," said Flaming Star, "And it turned out that the perfect time was when I realized how much I cared for Twilight: when she was hovering just above death and I was pouring my soul into my healing powers."

Spike looked like he was going to cry for a moment, but then smiled a little. "I couldn't think of anyone better for you, Twilight."

Twilight gave a little exclamation of joy and seized Spike in a tight hug. As she continued to hug him, she said, "You accepting him means the world to me, Spike."

Spike smiled, a little roguishly. "Yeah, I know. I'll leave you two lovebirds now. I'm going to find Rarity."

As Spike left, Flaming Star jumped up onto Twilight's bed and sat next to where she lay.

"I cannot believe that everything turned out so well," said Flaming Star, almost dreamily, "Our friends don't seem to have a problem with anything! Even at such short notice."

Twilight chuckled and rolled her eyes good-humoredly. "I don't think it was really short notice, Flaming Star. We were dating for about an eternity and a half as you got your nerve up."

Flaming Star's face turned pale for a moment as he said, "Wait… you KNEW I was too scared to ask you?"

Twilight giggled a little. "Of course I did, silly. I could see it in your eyes."

Flaming Star looked down at his hoofs. "Then… then you know why I was so scared then," he mumbled.

Twilight kissed him on the cheek as she said, gently, "I knew that too, but I also knew that you would overcome your doubts one day. And you did."

Flaming Star sighed as he flopped down, his head next to hers. "What are we going to do now, Twily?"

"I suppose wait until I get better," chuckled Twilight with a rueful wince, "I still feel sore. My stomach feels like it has been stabbed."

Flaming Star grimaced. "It's because it WAS stabbed. Here: let me see what I can do."

Twilight pushed back the covers, and Flaming Star inspected the thin white scar that ran from her collarbone to her pelvis. The place where Pictor had slid his blade along until he had been blasted into unconsciousness by Twilight's mysterious rescuer. Flaming Star placed a hoof over her belly and released a healing aura. Twilight sighed as it dulled the pain.

"I used this same technique when I comforted you when you broke your leg during that one demon attack at Canterlot," explained Flaming Star as he continued to willingly expend energy to make sure that Twilight was in every way comfortable.

Twilight nodded her head. "What happened to all the demons? I mean… it seems like they all have disappeared."

Flaming Star sighed. "It's because when Legion died, the Paradox forced him to tell the Infernal Hive Mind that the My Little Pony dimension had been crushed, and that the Grand Devil's plan was running smoothly. This way the Tree of Harmony would be free from danger so that the master plan could go unopposed."

Twilight frowned. "From what I understood… the Paradox might have had a reason for all of this."

Flaming Star looked at Twilight in confusion. "What… what do you mean?"

Twilight looked up into Flaming Star's eyes. Her own eyes began to water slightly as she recalled when the Paradox had visited her. "Do you know of Reavers? They are monsters from the Firefly/Serenity dimension."

Flaming Star's face darkened. "I know of them. I have even fought them. They are monstrosities that are unquenchable… a cancer dug so deep into the dimension that it is incurable. But it doesn't matter, as long as they are contained, most innocent people can live their lives in peace."

"That's what the Paradox said: that it was a caner dug so deep that it is incurable. He seemed distraught, ever terrified, over the situation. He's desperate for a lasting peace, but it seems that that desperation has grown too great inside of him."

Flaming Star cocked his head on one side as he listened to Twilight speak. When she finished speaking, he said, "Does this warrant him any form of mercy? He tried to kill you, he tried to kill me, he tried to kill everyone who ever existed, and he successfully killed Miranda."

Twilight shook her head, looked down at her hoofs, and said, "It doesn't, but I understand what's driving him. If we understand him, than perhaps there is a chance that we can change him. I am sure he doesn't want this to be how things turn out any more than we do!"

Flaming Star looked at Twilight's now distraught face and said, "Perhaps. But then again… perhaps not. Only time will tell. And you know what I intend to do with that time while we wait? I intend to spend every microsecond with you."

Twilight looked up again into Flaming Star's face lovingly and smiled her bright smile.

* * *

_Dimension: The Last of Us_

_Planet: Earth_

_Specific Location: Salem, Oregon, United States of America_

_Time: Thirteen years after the outbreak of the human-targeting strain of Cordyceps fungus, seven years before the arrival of Sunset Shadow in the My Little Pony dimension_

Evan Funsch stood at the edge of an abandoned parking lot, staring out at the vast, forest-consumed city. The landscape before him was abandoned, void of human life, with decimated buildings, crumbling sidewalks, and rusting cars. The land was deathly quiet save for the gentle breeze wafting through the trees that were beginning to grow higher than even the cracked concrete towers that stood as a last testament to the once thriving civilization of the dimension.

Funsch shook his head. Of all the meeting places that could be possibly chosen, it had to be this god-forsaken planet.

Suddenly a faint rumbling echoed from behind him, like a roar of flames muffled behind a sound-proof wall. Funsch whipped out a Star Trek phaser with his right hand, and conjured up a fireball with his left. He then whirled to face whatever was approaching him from behind. A grounded Blackbird spy plane pulled off from the abandoned and dilapidated main road before his eyes into the dusty old parking lot. It slowly rolled up to Funsch until it was only a few meters away and then it stopped. There was a pause. Then the jet suddenly began to warp and twist, with a sound that was a cross between the screeching of rusty breaks and the metallic buzz of a hovercraft passing overhead. The jet was none other than the ridiculously famous Dimensional Traveler Transformer Jetfire.

Funsch shook his head and holstered his weapons as he waited for Jetfire to complete his transformation from jet to Jetfire.

"You picked a hell of a meeting spot, old geezer," snorted Funsch as Jetfire stood before him, leaning on his walking stick.

"Look at this place, Funsch, there is not a human soul in sight. There are very few sentient things even moving within a ten kilometer radius! There is not a chance that our conversation will be heard! But it does not matter! And it doesn't matter that I'm old! I have experience! Now tell me… what planet are we on?" snapped Jetfire as he slowly sat down, causing the already decimated parking lot to crack and crumble further.

Funsch facepalmed. "We are on the planet that you chose. You called me here for a meeting."

"That's right! The meeting! Funsch, listen: The Paradox has been lying to us. I've been lied to before in such ways, but not so well disguised before. Our leader knows what he is doing, and I do not think we can stop it easily. In fact… we probably cannot stop it at all! I know, I've tried. I killed Matthew Tricost's sister, Caroline. She was always working closest to the Paradox since Night Shade joined Joseph Torrus. After I killed her, I hacked into her traveler database and withdrew some choice information. However, I only saw a little before someone, probably the Paradox, closed the database and locked me out!"

As Jetfire spoke, Funsch's eyebrows began to rise. After the transformer finished talking, Funsch nodded and said, "Jared DeWhite and I suspected that the Paradox might have been a liar. Tell me, what is this choice information?"

Jetfire shrugged. "I don't know! It was all retracted the second I uncovered it. All I know is that it involves the Tree of Harmony in that stupid pink-filled world of My Little Pony. I can tell you that I wouldn't be caught dead in that place. All sparkles, butterflies, rainbows, pies, crystals, and apples! I hate apples. And it's pink! My God, I would blow a gasket if my visual receptors were hit with that many colors!"

"Stop it Jetfire!" snapped Funsch, "What about the Tree of Harmony?"

"Stop interrupting me, you little whippersnapper! I am older than you by many years. My father, why, he was a wheel! The FIRST wheel! Do you know what he transformed into? NOTHING! But he did so with honor! DIGNITY, damn it!"

Funsch facepalmed again. "Jetfire, do you realize you have probably said that a hundred times to a hundred different people? That's the first sign of aging, I might add."

"It's been one hundred and twenty-three! And it's the SECOND sign of aging! Stop interrupting! So… where was I… Um… er… Oh dear…"

"You were telling me about the Tree of Harmony."

"Ah… that thing. Hidden in a land so pink and colorful that it could give a Decepticon a stroke… if they could get a stroke. Ah yes! So, all the information mentioned before it was pulled away was that it was involved in some sort of scheme to cleanse the multiverse, those exact words. It also mentioned something about some creature named Vaporis. I don't know. It doesn't matter. What matters now is that I need to leave."

Funsch massaged his temples with both of his index fingers as he said, "What? You need to leave?"

Jetfire slammed his walking stick on the ground, adding another crack in the pavement to the multitudes already existing. "That's what I said, damn it! Keep up! When I pulled the information in the first place, I was identified by the server thanks to my unique power system. Thus, when the information was pulled from me and locked away, I know for a fact that I was identified! I'm a wanted being now, Funsch. I need to… disappear!"

Funsch bit his lip as he realized what was going on: his only truly active ally was leaving him. "What? What am I supposed to do?"

Jetfire slammed his walking stick to the ground again and snapped, "Stop interrupting young man! No respect these days. Where was I…? Oh yes! I need to leave. My mortal enemy from the transformer dimension: The Fallen, is going to return. What I am going to do is go to my homeplanet to battle him and fake my death. This way I will be out of the big picture. If you need me… I will be there."

Funsch sighed heavily, but nodded. "Very well. If I need you, you will be in the transformer dimension. What should I do then? You and DeWhite are my only allies in this little rebellion against the Paradox!"

Jetfire waved his walking stick in the air as he shouted, "It doesn't matter, by God! You are clean! No one suspects you! Act normal… but why you are at it, I do have a mission for you. Before I killed Caroline Tricost and turned 'rogue,' my last mission was to kill a group of specially trained demons. I did so, but in the process found that a traveler had been falsifying information in the traveler database for the Paradox. The Dimensional Traveler is Dennis Creevey. He is a traitor, and he needs to be stopped. I believe he is right now taking refuge in his penthouse in the Star Wars dimension. A penthouse in the southern sector in Coruscant. Go there and take him out… finish the job."

Funsch nodded wordlessly.

Jetfire nodded back and then stretched. The noise of him moving his joints sounded like fingers on a chalkboard, and several rusty screws and old springs leapt from his metal plating. Jetfire then got up and opened a portal. As he prepared to exit, he said, "Good luck, Evan Funsch. You know where I am. Look out for this scheme surrounding the Tree of Harmony… and look out for this Vaporis thing. Good luck in your future endeavors! I am old and I am out!"

With that, Jetfire stepped through the portal and closed it behind him, leaving Funsch all alone. Funsch sighed and glanced around at the planet one more time before he too, opened a portal and left. Now the parking lot was empty… alone to crumble and degenerate at the hands of Mother Nature. Undisturbed as plants and trees claimed a hold over the abandoned technological discoveries of the human mind. All alone…

* * *

**Note: Okay! We're done with the "Past Days" chapters! Time to move on! Oh, and I am sure more than a few of you are quite happy to have seen Jetfire make an appearance! I can tell you guys that I really enjoyed writing that part! Anyway... Don't forget the R&R stuff!**


	60. Chapter 60 - Located

**Note: I will have to admit that the "Past Days" chapters contained a mixture of foreshadowing elements coupled with some loose-end fixing. Some of it was directly relevant, and some of it was not. To those who wanted me to proceed with the story without the "Past Days" chapters, I do appreciate your patience. We are moving on now!**

* * *

_Dimension: My Little Pony_

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Canterlot Castle_

_Time: Two days after the arrival of Doxia_

"…And this is the hall of thrones," said Luna as she led Caustic Rain into the throne room of the Sun and Moon sisters.

Caustic Rain cast a genuinely interested eye over the beautiful stained glass windows that lined the hall of thrones and the hallways leading up to the hall. They were massive, colorful, and elaborate. Each window told the story of a very special event. From where he was standing, Caustic Rain saw the nearest windows picture things from the sisters defeating Discord for the first time (though Caustic Rain noticed that both sisters had grown beards and mustaches in the picture, no doubt thanks to a little prank by the former god of chaos), all the way to the release of Luna from Nightmare Moon by the Mane 6. Caustic Rain then noticed at the very end of the hall, there were several more glass windows lining the walls. These depicted Sunset Shadow casting down Abbadon, Flaming Star defending Canterlot from the demon attack, Regal Crescent slaying Legion, and all the famous ponies of the Modern era facing off the Paradox as he stood moments away from activating the weapon of mass destruction that is the Tree of Harmony. As his eyes scoured the last one, he gave a little gasp of wonderment: had he really missed this much? Was it even true? Did any living traveler even care enough to sacrifice their life to fight the most powerful being ever created simply to protect a single, lonely, dimension? It seemed like the answer was actually yes.

Luna looked at Caustic Rain and said, "Do you… do you like it?"

Caustic Rain glanced at Luna, still feeling very nervous around the regal mare. "Um… yes, I do. The beauty of this hall is breath-taking, almost to the point where it is not even proverbial. It's astonishing."

Luna actually nuzzled his cheek as she said, "I am so glad."

Caustic Rain gasped at their skin made contact, and he fell straight over. Scrambling up and blushing vehemently, Caustic Rain looked at Luna with shock. Luna gazed at him in a mixture of embarrassment, confusion, and surprise. "I am truly sorry, I overstepped my bounds. Are you well?"

Caustic Rain could not help but inadvertently brush his cheek as if he was trying to brush off a particle of dust as he said, "No, no… It's fine… It's all wonderful in fact. I've just… As it seems… Well… I've never had someone ever do that before… EVER."

Luna, who was still blushing, sat down next to him and said, "There is a first time for everything, Caustic Rain."

Suddenly a voice like a choir of trumpets blasted out from every corner of the room. "Indeed there is, Princess Luna of Canterlot of the My Little Pony dimension."

A portal bloomed forth and opened as a majestic being stepped out: Archangel Michael. Directly... behind him was Archangel Hadar. Hadar, like Michael, was dressed in full body armor. His armor was a mixture of silver and blue. His belt of truth streamed with an eerie blue light, he wore a breastplate set with obsidian stones, his helmet was large with immaculate engravings of sweeping wings on its side, and a his sliver gauntlets shone like they emitted their own white light. His face, like all angels, was hidden in the shadows cast by the helmet that he wore.

Luna gave a little gasp of terror, as the appearance of angels always struck mortal terror into the hearts of mortals and demons. Caustic Rain couldn't stop himself, and he reached forward with a front hoof and wrapped it around Luna's shoulder. Luna didn't acknowledge the gesture, but she seemed a little less terrified.

"Samuel, there have been some grave developments in the courts of the Celestial Heaven," said Michael. He motioned for Hadar to step forward.

The angel did so, and then said, in a voice like thunder, "The Grand Devil has asked permission of Heaven to declare war on the Paradox. He has been given leave to do so, but Heaven forbade us angels to do anything to aid or slow this new conflict. However, Archangel Michael has been given permission to assist his mortal allies to ensure their safety. I will now leave with a word of warning: be careful mortals, the portal ways and empty dimensions of the Earth Multiverse's outer rings are no longer safe. War is here, and it will rise… it most certainly will rise."

With that, Hadar disappeared, leaving Michael alone with Luna and Caustic Rain.

Caustic Rain shook his head slowly as he said, "Wait… let me get this straight… There is a WAR going on now between the Paradox and Hell?"

Michael nodded. "It has begun. Even as we speak, Dimensional Lord Pictor and several other Dimensional Lords are being ambushed by a host of Arch-demons."

Luna blinked as she processed this information. Then she said, "Do we know what the outcome of this one fight will be?"

Michael nodded. "Demons are powerful, but even they are no match for the might of the Dimensional Lords. The Arch-demons will be slain, at no cost to those who have been ambushed. In fact, this very ambush worries the hosts of heaven. The Grand Devil is no fool, he is cunning, intelligent, and twice the age of the Paradox… Something more is going on here and we have yet to see what it is."

"But you guys are freaking angels!" burst out Caustic Rain, "You guys are supposed to, like, know everything!"

Michael shook his head. "We do not know everything. Only a choice few of us in heaven know the absolute truth of the future, but they cannot divulge the information. It is not what they have chosen."

Caustic Rain shook his head in frustration. He did not understand how any of that even worked. After a pause, he sighed and said, "Are my friends and I in trouble?"

Michael looked at Caustic Rain directly, but did not, at first, answer the question. "Friends? Tell me, Samuel, were you not explaining to me earlier how you were alone, and how due to your introverted nature you were unlikely to ever have friends? What has happened?"

Caustic Rain looked down at his hoofs. Michael had not spoken with any form of discernable emotion, but he felt the sting of the reproach nonetheless. "I guess… I guess I met Luna."

Michael nodded. "She is a special mare, willing to protect you. That is good. Now relay this information to Celestia, and I will do the same to Joseph Torrus and Abimael 'James' Sethson. They must be warned that due to the significance of this dimension, a battle or hostile encounter might occur here."

With that, Michael shimmered and disappeared, undoubtedly having teleported to someplace else. Caustic Rain turned to Luna, who was still staring, a little shocked, at the place where the Archangel had stood moments ago.

"Let's go," murmured Caustic Rain, "We need to do as he says."

Luna nodded wordlessly and got up.

"We have to hurry," explained Caustic Rain as he trotted out of the hall, "If there is a war, I can only assume that the Earth Multiverse will be paying the full price for it."

* * *

_Dimension: My Little Pony_

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: The Crystal Empire_

_Time: Two days after the arrival of Doxia_

Pinkie sighed and gazed down at her hoofs as she just sat next to the distraught Sapphire Anemone. Neither of them said anything as they contemplated their own sorrows, new and old. Suddenly, a knock came at the door. Pinkie's eyes brightened a little, and she went to the door and opened it. It was Doxia and Franklin.

Pinkie gave them a sad smile. "Hi. Where's Rarity? I sent for her… Is she here?"

Rarity and Ruby Blossom poked their heads from around Doxia. Rarity said, "Oh, we're here, Pinkie Pie."

Pinkie blinked in bemusement. "What's going on?"

Doxia ushered her out of the house as he said, "Oh, you're going to take a break. We can have ice cream together again. Rarity, could you go find Discord for us? I believe he is somewhere near the Crystal Empire Train Station, pretending to be a bench. Franklin, you know what to do."

Pinkie Pie's hair inflated again at the sound of "ice cream."

"Oh boy! I LOVE ice cream! Bye Sapphire Anemone! Bye everypony!" she exclaimed as she waved a hoof enthusiastically.

Franklin turned to look the house up and down as he said to Doxia, "I won't be a while."

Doxia nodded and turned around with Pinkie Pie in tow. Franklin took a deep breath and stepped into the building. Sapphire Anemone looked up and saw Franklin, but despite his strange appearance, she did nothing.

Franklin went over and sat down next to her. "Do you know what I am?"

Sapphire Anemone shook her head.

"I am a human. I am sure you don't see many humans around here, do you?"

Once again Sapphire Anemone just shook her head. Franklin chuckled. "Yes, well, my name is Franklin. And you are?"

There was a pause, then… "My name is Sapphire Anemone. Why are you here? Is this some sort of trick to cheer me up?"

Franklin patted her on the back lightly. "You are right and you are wrong. This is not a trick, but this is an attempt to cheer you up."

"Why do you all want to cheer me up?"

"Because we need the location of something. However, from what I recall Princess Cadence telling me about the curse of Sombra, you cannot remember past his dark rule. The location we need is before then, but you will not remember it until you have regained your crystal luster once more."

Sapphire Anemone covered her face with her hooves as she said, "I don't want to cheer up. I don't want to remember anything. I lost my brother. He became… he became that monster. And then he died. However, I don't except you to know anything about something like that. Everypony else seems to always be blessed with a perfect life."

Franklin sighed as his forced smile dissolved into nothing. "Actually, Sapphire Anemone, to tell you the truth… I've suffered in the same way you are right now."

Sapphire Anemone removed a hoof from one of her eyes as she gazed up at him. "What do you mean?"

"I lost a sister. She was murdered brutally by someone I once trusted more than anyone."

Sapphire Anemone sat up and, for the first time in forever, looked at Franklin with empathy. "That sounds terrible!"

Franklin nodded his head. "It was terrible. But I came to terms with it thanks to the help of my friends."

Sapphire Anemone looked mournful once more as she said, "I wish I had friends who would help me like that. However, all I have is Ruby Blossom, and she rarely spends time with me anymore."

Franklin smiled a genuine smile this time as he said, "Well. You have another friend now. Let me help you."

Sapphire Anemone sniffed, but managed to smile a little as Franklin gently brushed a tear from her right eye. Then she nodded.

Franklin nodded back. "Think hard and reach back into your mind… What was the very last thing your brother Sombra said before the darkness consumed him and he died to you? What was it?"

Sapphire Anemone closed her eyes and strained her mental muscles, forcing her way past the black magic that shrouded her oldest memories. Despite the extraordinary amount of resistance, she pushed through and recalled it. "He said… he said, 'Sapphire, do not think ill of me. When I am gone… just think of me at my best. I beg of you. It is too late for me to save myself, but you can save the memory of me. Think of me at my best'."

Tears once more began to openly flow down her cheeks as she began to sob. Franklin could not believe what he was about to do, but he did it anyway. He slowly wrapped his arms around the crying mare and squeezed her tight to his chest in a hug as he said, "I understand what you are going though. A sense of betrayal, a sense of loss. I too have suffered such tragedies, but we need to move on. Perhaps all we have of them are memories, and perhaps we cannot let those memories define who we are, but we still can use those memories to honor those who are gone. For you, it would be to honor and mourn for the stallion who spoke to you then, not the stallion that all fear now. Remember him as he once was, your brother, and love him for the qualities that he had. Celebrate the memory of the one who loved you back as a brother. Do as he said: remember him at his best. Honor him at his best."

Sapphire Anemone stopped crying. She was still clutching at Franklin, but her hooves had become less shaky. She looked up at Franklin with a tear-stained face and she smiled. "I understand now. Thank you."

Suddenly the luster returned to her crystalline coat, and she became a true crystal pony once more. Her eyes brightened as she exclaimed, "I remember it all now!"

Franklin grinned as he hugged her again, now out of joy. "That's wonderful!"

Not even thinking about what the mission of cheering up Sapphire Anemone was all about, Franklin got up and prepared to take his leave when she herself said, "Was there something that you wanted located, though?"

Franklin nodded. "Oh yeah… There was supposed to be a set of vials or something, Doxia told me, that Princess Celestia had given them toyour wonderful brother."

Sapphire Anemone gave a little bounce of joy as she said, "Oh yes! I know where those are!"

Franklin patted one of her front hoofs and said, "That's wonderful. However, don't you want to rest first?"

Sapphire Anemone shook her head. "I'm fine. I want to show you and your friends where they are right away!"

With that, Franklin and Sapphire Anemone exited the house. Doxia, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Daniel, Funsch and Discord were awaiting them outside. At the sight of Doxia, Daniel, Funsch, and the other ponies, Sapphire Anemone leapt behind Franklin. She peeked around at them with a slightly scared and worried expression until Franklin got down on one knee and said, "Oh, they're okay. I'm sorry about the big guy, Doxia. I know he's scary, but he's a friendly being."

Doxia got up and bowed elaborately. "Greetings m'lady! It is such a dandy pleasure meeting an illustrious mare as yourself. I do presume you have the location of the vials? They are rather important, you know."

Sapphire Anemone, who had immediately begun to warm up to Doxia, nodded her head vigorously. "I do! Follow me."

Ruby eyed Sapphire worriedly and motioned for Doxia and Daniel to follow her. The two wordlessly followed around the corner of a couple of crystal buildings to a small clearing.

"What is it Ruby?" asked Daniel.

Ruby wrung her mane for a couple of seconds before saying, "I don't know... but I've never seen Sapphire act in such a happy way. Can we... can we trust this Franklin person?"

Daniel gaped, almost unbelievingly, at Ruby. "What?"

Doxia patted Daniel on his scaly shoulders and said to him, "She doesn't know he is a part of your team."

He then turned to Ruby and said, "Yes. You can trust him. On my honor as a totally-wicked-awesome-cool-wizard Dimensional Lord."

Ruby bit her lip for a moment, but then nodded wordlessly. The three then moved back to where Sapphire was. Franklin was grinning happily as he talked to Sapphire.

Sapphire, too, was smiling brightly.

"What's this?" chuckled Doxia as he strolled up, "Two frowny-faces turned upside-down? I thought so! What happened?"

Sapphire gave a little hop of excitement. "I said 'hello' to a pony! I haven't done that in years. They passed on by, gave me a smile, and I then said hello!"

Franklin, feeling her joy as his own, continued to grin, "It was wonderful."

Doxia nodded his head sagely. "Saying hello is absaloutly wonderful. In fact, I remember this one time when I said hello to my Aunt Mildred..."

Wild cleared his throat loudly and said, "I believe it would be best if we get moving. Am I wrong?"

Sapphire giggled a little, but then nodded. "No, you are right. Follow me!"

The group then set off for the Crystal Mountains.

* * *

**Note: I do not think I will be able to post at all on Friday. Sorry... But I think I can make up for it by posting it on Saturday instead! So, look out for it then! Don't forget to review!**


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